Two Sam Rainsy Party activists have been charged by Battambang provincial court for arson, following a complaint from a Pailin resident, officials said Friday.
Im Lim, a resident of Bras village, O'Tawao commune, Pailin, filed suit in the Battambang provincial court, claiming two men, Tep Nom and Yean Sopheaktra, set fire to her house, according to a local human rights group and a court official who asked not to be named.
The official said the men were sent to Battambang court March 19, were they were charged.
Sam Rainsy Party officials said the arrests were a form of political persecution.
Pa Thea, deputy police chief of Pailin, said the dispute was between common people only and denied that any of the three involved belonged to a political party.
