The arrest of Sok Bolima's husband is among a number of recent examples, including the questioning of five Australians in Malaysia, being seen as a sign of a broader shift to supress free speech in South East Asia.
Sok Bolima knows she is probably being watched as she walks the streets of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh protesting against her husband's arrest.She has stood outside embassies and court houses every Friday since the arrest, holding signs and chanting for her husband Khim Pheana, who was detained after posting information — including news articles — on Facebook about COVID-19.
All of the men have been arrested and accused of treason or incitement during the pandemic and are affiliated with an opposition political party — the Cambodian National Rescue Party — which has been banned."At this stage, I've lost everything — I lost my job, my husband's in jail," she said. In late 2017, the courts forcibly dissolved the CNRP and banned 118 of its most senior members from political activity for five years.She fears that the Government is using COVID-19 to silence opposition."Every day you hear of opponents of the government, even simply regular citizens who express their anxiety, or they're concerned about their health, about COVID-19 and are put behind bars.
That has included the interrogation of a 14-year-old girl by police after she expressed fears about rumours of virus in her local area on a social media chat group. The ABC contacted Cambodian Government spokesman to comment on a range of questions relating to these issues.
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