Four years: Theary Seng remains in prison

Four years ago today, on 14 June 2022, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced the Cambodian-American human rights lawyer Theary Seng to six years in prison for "conspiracy to commit treason" and "incitement" over social-media posts critical of then-Prime Minister Hun Sen. She arrived at court dressed as the Statue of Liberty in chains, and was taken into custody the same day.

In June 2023 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found her detention arbitrary and politically motivated, and called for her immediate release. She went on hunger strike in December 2023 and again for fourteen days in June 2025. Nine United States senators and nine representatives, led by Senator Edward Markey, have urged the State Department to designate her wrongfully detained.

In May 2026 the opposition leader Kem Sokha, convicted in the same crackdown, was pardoned. Theary Seng was not. She is the sister of Senator Mardi Seng.

Join the campaign for her release