"The law will have a disastrously chilling effect on the freedom of speech of all Cambodian citizens, a coalition of 50 rights groups warned in a statement on Sunday. The potential for abuse in the implementation of this vaguely worded law to target people on the basis of their ethnicity, political opinions, speech and activism is simply too high to accept, it added."
"Under the bill, citizenship can also be stripped for acts leading to destruction of sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security. Revocation will be directed by a committee established at the request of the interior minister, Sar Sokha. Ahead of the vote, he urged lawmakers to pass the legislation because Cambodia was facing threats from a small handful of turncoat citizens working at the behest of neighbouring Thailand."
Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved legislation allowing authorities to strip citizenship from people deemed to have colluded with foreign powers. The law permits revocation for acts that destroy sovereignty, territorial integrity or national security. Revocation will be carried out by a committee established at the interior minister's request. A coalition of fifty rights groups warned the measure will have a disastrously chilling effect on freedom of speech and said the vaguely worded law could be abused to target people based on ethnicity, political opinions, speech or activism. The government cited threats from citizens allegedly working with neighbouring Thailand amid recent deadly border clashes. The law requires upper-house approval and head-of-state enactment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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