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Cambodian student held over Facebook post calling for 'Color Revolution'
Cambodian authorities have charged a student with incitement to commit a crime over an alleged Facebook post calling for a "color revolution" in the country, a right groups said on Monday
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ambodian authorities have charged a student with incitement to commit a crime over an alleged Facebook post calling for a "color revolution" in the country, a right groups said on Monday.
Kong Raiya, 25, an anti-government activist, was arrested on Thursday outside a university in Phnom Penh, Am Sam Ath of local rights group Licadho told AFP.
The 25-year-old man was charged by a court on Saturday with incitement to commit a felony and sent to jail pending further investigation, he said.
"He was arrested because of a post on Facebook calling on people to launch a color revolution," Am Sam Ath said.
"Color revolution" is a term used to refer to a wave of anti-government mass movements in recent years, mainly in the former Soviet bloc, although it is unclear which one the student was referencing in his post.
In a Facebook post on Aug. 7, Raiya under his profile name "Soriya Koko" said he would launch a revolution in the near future.
"Does anyone dare to launch a Color Revolution with me? Any day, in the near future I will launch a Color Revolution in order to change the vulgar regime. Even if I am jailed or die, I have to do it," he wrote.
Raiya faces up to two years in jail if convicted.
Cambodian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
In recent months strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen has taken an increasingly hard line towards dissent.
"His arrest is a warning to other youths," Am Sam Ath said.
It also follows the recent jailing of a number of opposition members and activists for insurrection over their alleged roles in a protest that turned violent last year.
A Cambodian opposition senator also faces up to 17 years in jail after a court charged him over the posting of a disputed document on Facebook about the border with Vietnam.
Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-ruling leaders, marked three decades in power in January. He is regularly criticized by campaigners for stamping out dissent. (++++)
