"I never did anything wrong, I'm just a peer educator for MSM"

Submitted by Chheav Aphyra (googman) about 8 months ago

"Why have you stopped me? What did I do wrong?" This is what two transgender peer educators for Men’s Health Cambodia (MHC) said when police arrested them outside a health clinic in May 2009.

We met the two peer educators in jail for a group interview. Present at the meeting were the defendants Tin Raksmey and Pin Phkay, two representatives from Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA), Tin Meymey (younger sister of Tin Raksmey) and an officer from Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO).

Police arrested them in front of the health center, without showing a warrant from the court. They were handcuffed and brought to the police station; the police beat them heavily and accused them of poisoning a fruit shake and giving it to a driver of a motor taxi in Bakong district, in the early morning of 9th May 2009 between 1:00 and 2:00 A.M.

“I did not commit the crime the police have accused me of. On 8th May 2009 I was far away from Siem Reap town and was staying with my aunt in Purk District and on the morning of 9th May 2009, I went to Purk District to beautify the bride and groom for a wedding ceremony,” Raksmey said.

Tears fell down her cheeks and she continued to tell us that in the police station she was beaten, handcuffed, slapped, kicked and forced to lie down on the floor- then the policeman put his heavy leg on her chest and asked her to confess to motorbike theft.

Police had already written the confession without her input. Although the police were forceful, Raksmey and Phkay bravely refused to confess to a crime they didn’t commit. However the police did not relent and continued the vicious beating and forced them to print her thumb print on the confession written by the police.

Until her arrest, Raksmey was an activist campaigning for authorities to stop discriminating against MSM (men who have sex with men) and arresting them just because they just walk in public at night. She is also a former member of Bandanh Chaktomok (BC) that advocates to stakeholders and police to stop disrespecting and discriminating against MSM when they meet them in Siem Reap. At every forum, Raksmey always raised the issue of conflict between MSM and specifically, police arresting MSM and asking for money in exchange for their freedom.

Raksmey said that she has enough witnesses to prove to the court that she is innocent. Furthermore the witness of the plaintiff (fruit shake seller), does not clearly remember the defendant at that time. The fruit shake seller told the judge that she had seen one MSM with short hair put medicine in the fruit shake in her presence and that when she asked why he was doing it, he said it was to make men feel like having sex.

Actually, Raksmey had long hair, which she loved and took care of every day. The owner of motorbike told the judge that he recognized Rakamey because he could see her face from the light of motor and remembered a small mole beneath her eye and her fat face. But Raksmey’s face is not fat.

Raksmey ended the interview with a final plea, “It is an utmost injustice for me that police arrested us without an arrest warrant or proof. I call for the Human Rights NGOs, the United Nations and other civil society help find justice for us. Because I did not do anything wrong and am in jail for no reason. I just do what I can to help to reduce HIV transmission amongst MSM.”

Keywords: Cambodia HIV MSM Raksmey

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