Statement

Seven-Year Prison Sentence for Student Leader Thy Thorn is Punishment for Activism

Joint Statement Seven-Year Prison Sentence for Student Leader Thy Thorn is Punishment for Activism Phnom Penh, 7 September 2026 The seven-year prison sentence handed down to 25-year-old Thy Thorn, vice president of the Khmer Student Intelligent League Association (KSILA), on 2 September over baseless plotting charges is a disproportionate punishment for Thorn's commitment to peaceful activism. We, the undersigned civil society group, are deeply pained by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's decision, and we call for Thorn to be immediately released and the charges against him to be dropped. In August 2024, Thorn was a...