Cambodian police free 8 activists detained in "Black Monday Campaign"

The Cambodian authorities on Monday evening released eight activists, including two foreigners, who were detained earlier in the day for launching a so-called "Black Monday Campaign" against the recent arrests of five human rights defenders, a senior official confirmed.

"We let them go home this evening after they agreed to sign contracts promising not to do such an illegal protest again," Phnom Penh Municipal Vice-Governor Khuong Sreng told Xinhua.

The eight people, including local rights group Licadho deputy director and two foreigners -- a German man and a Sweden woman who also work for Licadho, were detained Monday morning when they dressed in black and attempted to gather outside the Prey Sar prison on the southwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh.

They demanded the government to release five human rights defenders, who were jailed late last month on charges of bribing a witness in a sex scandal case involving opposition vice president and lawmaker Kem Sokha.

Khuong Sreng said the measure taken against them was to ensure people's safety and to prevent the anarchists from attempting to stage "color revolution" in Cambodia.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng said on Sunday that a small number of associations and non-governmental organizations had been inciting"Black Monday Campaig" in order to demand the release of the five human rights defenders.

He ordered all municipal and provincial governors to take measures to prevent the movement, saying that such provocative move could lead to chaos and unrest in the society. Enditem