[JURIST] Cambodian President Hun Sen [BBC profile] has said that a court has refused to allow him to drop criminal defamation charges against a group of human rights activists, as he had promised [JURIST report] last week. In a speech on Monday, Hun Sen said that the court ruled out dropping the charges because investigative proceedings had already begun. The accused include a radio journalist, a union leader and two activists from the Cambodia Center for Human Rights [advocacy website] who were arrested earlier this month [JURIST report] for allegedly accusing Hun Sen of ceding land to Vietnam. The arrests have drawn criticism from the international community and groups like Human Rights Watch [advocacy website], which has released a report [JURIST report] listing Cambodia among the Asian countries whose human rights records have seriously declined over the past year. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase…

• Cambodia PM drops defamation charges against critics
• Cambodian rights activists released from jail
• Cambodia PM defends defamation lawsuits against rights activists
• Cambodia police continue arrests of human rights activists