Phnom Penh has joined the chorus of outrage over a statement penned by Human Rights Watch’s Brad Adams in the wake of former Senate president Chea Sim’s death.

Adams accused the recently deceased leader of “serious international crimes” allegedly committed while he was a Khmer Rouge district commander in the 1970s.

“People, civil servants and authorities of Phnom Penh, do not welcome Brad Adams if his ongoing trend will not be neutral and affects the honour and dignity of the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” reads a statement released yesterday by the municipality.

Adams’s article, published on June 8, the day after Sim died, pointed out that Sim had never been charged with any crime, despite his alleged role in abuses as Ponhea Krek district commander in Democratic Kampuchea.

“This article not only insulted the supreme leadership, which is respected by people from all political trends, but also insulted the Cambodian people,” the statement from City Hall says.

On June 13, the Interior Ministry issued a similar statement, in which it said Adams would be blacklisted if he did not apologise.