A United Nations expert panel is urging the immediate release of Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American human rights advocate, asserting her detention is unlawful under international law. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Seng's conviction on treason-related charges stems from Facebook posts criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen, rather than any legitimate legal basis. This judgment arrives shortly before Cambodia's general election, where Hun Sen's long-standing rule is expected to continue due to the exclusion of the primary opposition party. This mirrors the 2018 election, where the prominent Cambodian National Rescue Party was similarly disqualified. Cambodian courts are widely seen as being influenced by Hun Sen, with frequent criticism from pro-democracy organizations regarding the suppression of dissent.

Seng, who escaped the Khmer Rouge genocide as a child and later returned to Cambodia to establish human rights NGOs, received a six-year prison sentence last June. She was among dozens of individuals linked to the Cambodian National Rescue Party, accused of involvement in a thwarted attempt by the party's leader to return from exile. Seng and others denied these allegations. Organizations like Perseus Strategies, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and Freedom House, representing Seng pro bono, brought her case to the UN working group. The group cited several reasons for deeming her detention arbitrary, emphasizing the government's political motivations and the inherent unfairness of mass trials. They underscored that Seng's imprisonment is part of a broader crackdown on free speech and that the due process violations she experienced were intended to silence her. Hun Sen has explicitly rejected the possibility of a pardon for Seng, further reinforcing concerns about her unjust detention.