Rong Chhun’s lawyers plan to file two appeals this week against a ruling to detain the Cambodian Confederation of Unions president. Bail is also being requested.

More than 140 civil society organisations and communities also released a joint statement asking that charges be dropped and Chhun released.

Chhun was arrested last Friday on charges of incitement to cause serious disorder to social security and spreading fake news after he posted on Facebook about land violations in Cambodia coming from across the Vietnam border.

“The facts of the judge who ruled to detain him are not in line with Articles 203, 204 and 205 of the Criminal Code. My client Rong Chhun is fit for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to release him on bail temporarily.

“The charges have nothing to do with incitement because Chhun went to visit the border. He made a statement highlighting his findings when he went to inspect the border.

“On all of these points, the detention is unjust and incorrect. Therefore we ask the Appeal Court to review the ruling,” his lawyer Sam Sokong said.

The court on Saturday ruled to place Chhun in pre-trial detention on charges of “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest” under articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code.

Chhun was arrested after he went to meet with residents in Tbong Khmum province’s Trapaing Phlong commune in Ponhea Kraek district. A resident claimed Cambodia had lost land to Vietnam and the Vietnamese authorities had pushed residents 200m into Cambodian land.

The Council of Ministers Joint Committee for Border Affairs and Ministry of Justice secretary of state Kim Santepheap denied Chhun’s statement. They said it misled the public and spread fake news.

A statement released on Monday by 141 civil society organisations, associations and local trade unions said the charges are a clear violation of his right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Cambodia’s Constitution.

The statement said this is not the first time Chhun has been arrested for his activism. In October 2005, he spent three months in prison on charges of defamation and incitement after being arrested for comments he had made about a Vietnam-Cambodia border agreement.

In January 2014, he was arrested again with 10 other human rights activists for publicly calling for the release of almost two dozen demonstrators arrested during widespread protests that followed the 2013 national election.

“After more than a decade of harassment by authorities, this latest arrest of a respected union leader is a direct threat to every Cambodian who exercises their constitutional right to freely express their beliefs,” the statement read.

Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin said on Monday the joint statement was made by civil society organisations that had not carried out such activities. They have the rights and freedoms to express their views but cannot put pressure on the court.

“The case of Rong Chhun, the jurisdiction and the law enforcement and court proceedings in effect rest on facts and questions of law. Helping Chhun means showing sound evidence to prove that he didn’t commit the offence as charged,” he said.

The ministry on Monday also issued a press release, calling on people to stop the protests before authorities take legal action against them.

“When people gather in front of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to demand Chhun’s release, it is not correct legally as the gathering serves to put pressure on the court. They could face charges under Article 522 of the Criminal Code,” the press release said.

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