HRD Attack
Tep Vanny
Sources
Tep Vanny is a land rights activist and human rights defender combating corruption in Cambodia. Ms. Tep Vanny played a prominent role in mobilising communities around Boeung Kak Lake to fight against an eviction order agreed upon by the Government and a private corporation, in order for the corporation to carry out development plans which would include filling 90% of the lake to build tourism infrastructure. On 23 February 2017, human rights defender Tep Vanny was convicted and sentenced to two and a half years in prison by Phnom Penh Municipal Court for ‘intentional violence with aggravating circumstances’. She has appealed the decision. Human rights NGOs stress charges against her are motivated by her work in defence of human rights in Cambodia, in particular her struggle against forced eviction in Boeng Kak Lake.