A/HRC/12/41 page 10 34. The most significant political development of 2008 was the general election on 27 July and the formation of a new Government. OHCHR limited its role to monitoring instances of violence related to the elections. Its main findings were summarized in a press release on 29 July. The elections passed without significant violence - a welcome change to previous elections which have been marred by widespread human rights abuses. It noted, however, the impact on the political climate of the assassination of journalist Khim Sambor and his son on 11 July 2008. Khim Sambor was a reporter for the newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience), affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP). While the murder appeared unrelated to the elections, it clearly had a chilling effect on an already frightened local media. To date there has been no meaningful investigation into the case. This murder follows eight actual or attempted assassinations of journalists in Cambodia since 1994, and three other fatal instances which remain unclear, for none of which the perpetrators have been punished. 35. During the months preceding the election, OHCHR observed an organized effort by the ruling party to pressure, intimidate and offer rewards to influential individuals belonging to opposition parties to persuade them to switch allegiance, the mobilization of civil servants to campaign for the ruling party, and the use of threats and intimidation. One illustrative example was the arrest of Tout Sarorn, a commune chief and member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party in Kompong Thom province. He was accused by a fellow party organizer, who had been pressured to defect, of placing her in confinement on 16 February 2008. OHCHR interviewed witnesses at the time of the alleged action, including the plaintiff herself, but found no evidence to support her claim. Its efforts to share its information and discuss the case with the Provincial Court, the Supreme Court, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the SRP yielded no result. Tout Sarorn was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison on 20 March 2009. Three others, co-accused in the same case went into hiding to escape arrest. 36. Despite restrictions on freedom of expression largely being lifted during the month-long election campaign period, OHCHR, as well as all other observers, noted the overwhelming dominance by the CPP of both broadcast and print media, and the continuing attempts to silence critical voices. In this context, an illustrative case was the arbitrary closure by the Ministry of Information of the Angkor Ratha radio station in May 2008 because of fears by provincial authorities that it would sell airtime to opposition parties. OHCHR raised the case with the Minister of Information, who explained that the concern was the selling of airtime to “foreign interests”. He assured OHCHR that he would reissue the licence before the elections, which he did not do. The repeated attempts of OHCHR to persuade the Minister to reissue the licence were in vain. The radio station remains closed. 37. Civil society organizations, remaining opposition newspapers, opposition parties and foreign-language media continue to enjoy considerable freedom of expression in the country, and more particularly in the capital. Since the beginning of 2008, however, OHCHR has observed a growing recourse by Government officials and individuals to criminal defamation or “disinformation” complaints to respond to public criticisms. In most cases, the targets have been opposition party figures, including Members of Parliament, as well as journalists and activists expressing views deemed critical of Government policies and practices. The recourse to such legal actions, which carry the threat of prohibitive fines or imprisonment, instead of engaging in public debates on the issues raised, threatens to undermine the exercise of freedom of expression