STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — Six environmental activists in Cambodia have been released without charge after being arrested and held for nearly three days by Cambodian military. The activists, including Ouch Leng, a winner of the prestigious Goldman Prize for grassroots environmentalists, had been investigating an illegal logging operation in a national park. Their arrest is just the latest in a string of crackdowns against environmentalists and journalists in the Southeast Asian nation. At roughly 8:10 a.m. on Nov. 23, Ouch Leng and fellow activists Tat Oudom, Heng Sros, Out Latin, Men Mat and Prum Mao were detained by the military in Talat commune, Sesan district, roughly 10 kilometers (6 miles) from a known logging operation inside Veun Sai-Siem Pang National Park in the country’s northern Stung Treng province. Authorities withheld the activists’ whereabouts for roughly 12 hours before civil society groups were able to confirm their arrest. On the morning of Nov. 24, the group was transferred to the Stung Treng police commissariat, where they were interrogated and held until their release on the afternoon of Nov. 25. After being held for nearly three days, the activists were released without charge on Nov. 25. (Left to right) Men Mat, Prum Mao, Tat Oudom, Out Latin, Heng Sros and Ouch Leng leave the Stung Treng provincial police commissariat. Image courtesy of Ma Chettra. Men Kong, spokesperson for the Stung Treng provincial administration, said the activists were arrested “because they entered an area protected and managed by the authorities to prevent illegal loggers.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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