Phnom Penh: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Samdech Krala Hom Sar Kheng said that due to the overcrowding of the prison, the Ministry of Interior is taking care to build more infrastructure to solve this problem and is considering exemption from detention pending court proceedings for some minor offenses.

Speaking at a working meeting with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia, Mr. Vitit Muntarbhorn, on 15 March 2022, said: "The number of detainees in Cambodia is more than 30,000, of which more than 50 percent are detainees involved in drug cases."

In addition, he also mentioned the progress towards the 2022 election, he emphasized that this election is the fifth mandate election in accordance with the Constitution and shows the will of the Royal Government in an effort to implement reforms to transfer power and resources from the national level to the sub-national level.

He added that 17 political parties have registered their candidates in this election, and he often spoke and issued instructions to the authorities at all levels to facilitate the activities of those political parties, he welcomed the information related to the challenges in this work. Separately, the party that was removed from the list of political parties, he said that the law has opened the right to appeal against the decision to cancel, and for those who violate the law, the Ministry of Interior has assigned to follow the procedure by filing a complaint to the court to take further legal action.

In response, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn thanked him for the constructive and mutually beneficial discussions. Sar Kheng also expressed his gratitude and stated that he was always ready to meet with the Special Rapporteur at the next opportunity as needed.