As the fate remains unknown of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, an activist in self-imposed exile in Cambodia who was abducted in 2020, his sister and activists campaigning for justice in his case moved closer to being jailed after the latest court ruling in favour of strict enforcement of the Emergency Decree to control Covid-19.

On 2 June, Sitanan Satsaksit, the sister of Wanchalearm Satsaksit and legal advisors sought an audience with the Cambodian ambassador to Thailand to request an update on an investigation into the political refugee’s abduction in Phnom Penh on 4 June 2020.  Their request was denied before they could enter the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok.

Sitanun Satsaksit, sister of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) on Monday (4 April) a statement calling for the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) to address Cambodia’s failure to investigate Wanchalearm’s disappearance.

Sitanun Satsaksit, sister of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, has been charged with violation of the Emergency Decree for giving a speech at a protest on 5 September 2021 at the Asoke Intersection.

As uncertainty looms over whether a bill to criminalize torture and enforced disappearance will be approved by parliament, friends and relatives of the disappeared rallied on 8 September to demand its immediate passing to put an end to impunity and harassment from the authorities.