Koet Saray
Detained Since: April 5, 2024.
Charges: "Incitement to cause serious chaos to social security."
Sentence: 4 years in prison.
Biography: Koet Saray is a human rights and environmental defender in Cambodia and served as the president of the Khmer Student Intelligence League Association (KSILA), a now-shuttered organization that works with students and other community members to advocate for social development, good governance, and sustainability. He has also been involved with Mother Nature Cambodia, a group that advocates for human rights and sustainable development, since 2018. He was ordained as a monk in 2002 and was defrocked in 2020, after he was arrested for participating in a peaceful protest.
On March 21, 2024, Mr. Koet met with villagers from Preah Vihear Province who had been evicted from their land to make way for a rubber plantation owned by the Phnom Penh-based company, Seila Damex Co., Ltd. The villagers were hiding in the forest in fear of arrest after Cambodian officials used tear gas against them for protesting their eviction on March 6, 2024. Following his meeting with the villagers, Mr. Koet posted photos of the meeting on Facebook and spoke to media outlets, including Radio Free Asia, about the evictions.
On April 5, 2024, fifteen days after the meeting and subsequent Facebook post, the Office of the Prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of First Instance issued an order to question Mr. Koet on charges of “incitement to cause serious chaos to social security.” Later that day, he was arrested by 10 plainclothes officers from the Phnom Penh Municipal Police outside of the KSILA office in Phnom Penh and taken immediately for questioning to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Commissariat, where he was questioned without a lawyer and detained for two nights.
On April 7, 2024, Prosecutor Seng Heang referred the case to Investigating Judge Hok Pov of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of First Instance, where Mr. Koet appeared without a lawyer. The court placed him under pretrial detention and he was transferred to Phnom Penh’s Correctional Centre 1 (“Prey Sar Prison”). The Detention Order claimed pretrial detention was necessary because the investigating judge believed Mr. Koet to be guilty and wanted to prevent him from fleeing. Officials also explained to state-run media that Mr. Koet was placed under pretrial detention “in order to prevent unrest during the upcoming Khmer New Year.” He was not given any opportunity to challenge his pretrial detention until his trial, six months later.
Mr. Koet was charged under articles 88, 494, and 495 of the Criminal Code of Cambodia. The prosecutor added a charge under article 88, based on Mr. Koet’s prior conviction on politically motivated charges under articles 494 and 495. Articles 494 and 495 criminalize provocation to commit offenses and article 88 doubles the maximum penalty for a misdemeanor for individuals who have been convicted of the same crime in the previous five years.
Mr. Koet’s trial was held on October 9, 2024 at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of First Instance. He was represented by lawyers from two local organizations, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). At trial, the Court heard only one witness—the police officer who arrested and detained Mr. Koet on April 5 and 6, 2024.
On November 6, 2024, Judge San Bunthoeun convicted Mr. Koet on all three charges and sentenced him to four years in prison. Following Mr. Koet’s detention, KSILA shut down due to targeted arrests of other members. On January 26, 2026, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court upheld Mr. Koet’s sentence. He is still held at Prey Sar Prison today.
Advocate: Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA)
Advocacy Partner: Freedom House