Michel Forst, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, is in Cambodia on an “academic visit” and will speak this morning at Meta House in Phnom Penh.

The French national arrived yesterday for a two-day visit, but is not here on an official monitoring mission, Country Representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights Wan-Hea Lee said.

Lee directed further questions about whether Forst would meet with government officials to his representatives, who did not respond to a request for comment.

As political tension has risen, the government has been accused of waging a campaign of intimidation against opponents and critics.

Rights group Licadho now counts 25 people in the Kingdom as political prisoners, including five past and present staffers of the rights group Adhoc, who are in pre-trial detention on charges widely considered politically motivated.