Cambodia frees six anti-NGO law protesters after detaining for hours

The Cambodian authorities on Sunday afternoon released a group of six demonstrators, who protested against the recent passing of a controversial law regulating associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), after detaining them for hours, a spokesman confirmed.

The group, five men and a woman, were arrested Sunday morning while they dressed themselves in prisoner's uniforms, chained their feet together and rallied outside the National Assembly in the capital, Long Dimanche, a spokesman for Phnom Penh Municipality, said. "Their action was inappropriate, so our authorities detained them for education and made them sign a contract promising not to do such action again, then we freed them at 5:00 p.m. (local time), " he told Xinhua via telephone.

The Cambodian Senate, or the upper house, on Friday gave final approval to the draft law on associations and NGOs despite a boycott of the opposition senators and protests by some human rights activists.

According to the government's figures, currently, there are about 5,000 associations and NGOs operating in this Southeast Asian nation.

Under the law, associations and NGOs will be required to register their nationalities with the government in order to have legal standing and must file reports on their activities and finances each year to the government.

It will also allow the government to delete the name of any association or NGO, which has conducted any action that jeopardizes peace, stability and public order, or harms national security, unification, culture, traditions and custom. Endi