Rights group fears member of banned Candlelight Party will be deported and face persecution
A member of a banned Cambodian opposition party has been arrested in Bangkok and is at risk of being deported, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday.
Thol Samnang is being held at the Suan Phlu immigration detention centre in central Bangkok, said Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher on Thailand with HRW Asia.
According to local media reports, Thol Samnang was preparing to visit the Bangkok office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) when he was apprehended near Victory Monument.
Mr Sunai noted in a tweet that Thailand’s new anti-torture and forced disappearance legislation prohibits the deportation of people who may face harm in the destination country.
The Candlelight Party, the only meaningful opposition party remaining in the country, in late May lost its bid to overturn a ban on taking part in national elections on July 23.
The National Election Committee had refused to register the party after it failed to submit certain documents. The Constitutional Council subsequently upheld the decision, paving the way for long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen to run a one-horse race.
Critics and rights groups accuse Hun Sen of using the legal system to crush opposition to his rule, particularly in the run-up to elections.
The Candlelight Party gained traction in last year’s local elections, claiming 22% of the popular vote, and was planning to challenge Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in every constituency in the national polls.
In the national elections in 2018, the CPP won every seat after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved.
The Candlelight Party, formerly known as the Sam Rainsy Party and the Khmer Nation party, was founded in 1995, and merged with other opposition forces to form the CNRP in 2012.
When the CNRP was dissolved in November 2017, almost 90% of its members joined Candlelight, which had strong support among young people.