On 27th May 2010, local police seized Venerable Soeun Ty his Cambodian passport and subjected him to full day of interrogation, while he was on his way to was visiting his parents in Khleang.

Below is an article published by Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation:

Venerable Soeun Ty, born on August 19, 1984, had left his home town of Khleang (renamed Soc Trang) to live in Cambodia since 2003. He became a legal Cambodian citizen in 2004 and currently resides at Angtaminh Temple, Sangkat Khokchombok, Khan Dongkor, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

On 27th May 2010, Ven. Ty was visiting his parents in Khleang when local Police seized his Cambodian passport and subjected him to full day of interrogation. He was released later that day and was told to pick up his passport four days later, on 31st May, 2010. When Ven. Ty attempted to pick his passport, he was once again subjected to another full day of intense interrogation. While he was later released, his parents continue to be harassed by police, forced to go local police station almost daily. According to inside reports, the police are applying pressure to Ven.

Ty’s parents to force Ven. Ty to voluntarily defrock. They threaten to defrock their son and imprison him if they do not comply with their orders.

The reason behind Ven. Ty intense interrogation by Vietnamese authorities remains unknown. He is currently residing at Pem Boun Temple, Kinh Ngang Hamlet, Dai An2 Village, Long Phu District, Soc Trang Province under heavy surveillance.

On behalf of Ven. Ty and his parents, we, the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation, would like to seek your assistance to intervene on this matter immediately. We believe that all Khmer-Krom individuals in Cambodia should feel safe and able to freely visit their ancestral homeland without fear or discrimination from Vietnam. We sincerely hope that Ven. Ty will not become another Tim Sakhorn case.

In this regards, we would like to:

• Ask Vietnam to stop the unjustified interrogations and harassment of Ven. Ty and his parents without legitimate reason.

• Ask Vietnam to release Ven. Ty’s passport and drop all charges against him.

• Ask the help of the Cambodian government to investigate this case against its fellow citizen and secure for his safe return to Cambodia.

• Seek the help of Foreign Embassies and human rights agencies within Cambodia and around the world to closely monitor the situation of Ven. Ty.