Violent Crackdown of Peaceful Protesters during the Visit of UN Secretary-General

The incident took place during a protest in front of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital on the morning of October 28, 2010, where a group of fifty protesters gathered to seek intervention by the UN Secretary-General into the ongoing Boeung Kak land grab in Phnom Penh. ;Around 10:15AM, as the UN Secretary-General was visiting the Hospital with government officials, a mixed group of armed anti-riot police and administrative police officers launched a violent assault on standing protesters, pushing people to the ground, beating some with walkie-talkies and shocking others with electric batons.
During the incident, Suong Sophorn, an activist who lives in the Boeung Kak Lake area, was arrested and viciously beaten, resulting in a severe bleeding wound to the head. The police dragged him away as he felt unconscious and was further beaten by officers. Sophorn is one among the Cambodians who were protesting the forced eviction of the Boeung Kak Lake community, and was appealing for a meeting with the Secretary-General.

Picture above: police officers dragging unconscious protester by the hair.
The blood on the protester' shirt comes from a bleeding wound on his head

Released by Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)

October 28, 2010 - The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the authorities’ brutal response to peaceful protesters who demonstrated during the visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The incident took place during a protest in front of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital this morning, October 28, 2010, where a group of fifty protesters gathered to seek intervention by the UN Secretary-General into the ongoing Boeung Kak land grab in Phnom Penh by Shukaku Company, owned by a ruling party senator.

Around 10:15AM, as the UN Secretary-General was visiting the Hospital with government officials, a mixed group of armed anti-riot police and administrative police officers launched a violent assault on standing protesters, pushing people to the ground, beating some with walkie-talkies and shocking others with electric batons.

During the incident, Suong Sophorn, a land activist who lives in the Boeung Kak Lake area, was arrested and viciously beaten, resulting in a severe wound to the head. The police dragged him away as he fell unconscious and was further beaten by officers. Sophorn is one among the many Cambodians who were protesting the forced eviction of the Boeung Kak Lake community, and was appealing for a meeting with the Secretary-General.
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