Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Activist held for alleged trafficking

Activist held for alleged trafficking

Ismail Pin Osman (blue shirt) is arrested by anti-human trafficking police in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo district on Wednesday. Photo supplied
Ismail Pin Osman (blue shirt) is arrested by anti-human trafficking police in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo district on Wednesday. Photo supplied

Activist held for alleged trafficking

Former Cambodia National Rescue Party member Ismail Pin Osman was arrested in Phnom Penh on Wednesday for alleged human trafficking, though police officials offered little detail on why he was taken into custody.

Pin Osman, who is listed as a licence plate seller on his arrest warrant, was arrested by anti-human trafficking police, but department head Pol Pithey declined to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest beyond noting that it “followed a complaint”.

Ysa Osman, a former CNRP activist in the ethnic Cham community, confirmed that Pin Osman had been arrested in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district and was being held at the National Police headquarters.

A police summons from November requests Pin Osman appear at the Interior Ministry’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department for allegedly sending female workers overseas. His February 5 arrest warrant cites a complaint from a person named Los Nass.

Former CNRP lawmaker Mao Monyvann said he had only heard of the arrest and that Pin Osman had stood as a reserve candidate in Kampong Cham in the 2013 national elections.

“After the election, he was a member of the CNRP working team in Tbong Khmum [province],” he said, adding that the case could be linked to the ruling party’s efforts to get opposition officials to defect.

Following the CNRP’s forced dissolution in November, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party made a major push to encourage CNRP members to switch parties, with many CNRP activists and elected officials reporting harassment and surveillance as part of the effort.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm