Cambodian maid is arrested and deported by Malaysia for criticizing Cambodia leaders on social media

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A Cambodian woman who worked as a maid in Malaysia has been deported to her homeland for comments she posted on social media criticizing Cambodian government leaders, in the latest example of a Southeast Asian government helping another arrest a dissident.

A Cambodia prison official and an opposition activist group said Thursday that Nuon Toeun, 36, who had worked in Malaysia for several years, was arrested last week by Malaysian authorities following a request from the Cambodian government.

Human rights groups have criticized several Southeast Asian governments for helping each other harass, detain and deport political dissidents in exile. New York-based Human Rights Watch has urged the Thai government to stop forcing political dissidents to return to their authoritarian home countries, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China, where they might face torture, persecution or death.

Freedom House, a U.S.-based organization that promotes democracy, says the practice of attacking or sending back exiled dissidents “is becoming a ‘normal’ phenomenon as more governments around the world use it to silence dissent.″

Nuth Sovana, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s prison department, said Nuon Toeun was detained at Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh upon her arrival in Cambodia on Tuesday. She was charged with incitement to commit a felony or cause social disorder and incitement to discriminate on the basis of race religion or nationality, he said. He couldn’t provide details of the offenses she was accused of committing.

If convicted on both charges, she could face up to five years in prison and a fine.

Malaysian police and immigration officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on her deportation.

Nuon Toeun is neither an opposition leader nor a well-known activist. However, Cambodia’s government has expressed concern recently about overseas critics rallying support among Cambodian expatriates.

Nuon Toeun's arrest came shortly after a Cambodian investigative reporter, Mech Dara, known for exposing online scams and corruption, was charged with incitement to commit a felony for material he posted on social media.

Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded news service that reports extensively on Cambodia, said Nuon Toeun often used social media to criticize Cambodia’s leadership, including Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father Hun Sen, the former prime minister who is now the Senate president, over their handling of social issues.

Cambodia’s government under the governing Cambodia People’s Party has long been accused of silencing critics and political opponents.

Radio Free Asia said Nuon Toeun was a supporter of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, which was dissolved ahead of the 2018 general election as part of a crackdown on the opposition. The Cambodian People’s Party subsequently won every seat in the National Assembly.

A few days before her arrest, Nuon Toeun posted a video on Facebook in which she said she was “expressing rage on behalf of the people living inside Cambodia," Radio Free Asia reported.

“If I have sinned because I (have cursed) this despicable guy, I am happy to accept the sin because he has mistreated my people so badly,” she said, in a reference to Hun Sen, Radio Free Asia reported.

The Khmer Movement for Democracy, a movement formed by opposition leaders in exile, condemned Nuon Toeun’s deportation from Malaysia. It said in a statement that she was working legally in Malaysia and had committed no crime except expressing her opinions.

It said her deportation without due process was a “blatant violation of international law and a grave assault on human rights.”