A/HRC/18/47 23. OHCHR monitored demonstrations involving community representatives, housing rights activists, trade union leaders and civil society members and made protection interventions where necessary to allow peaceful protests to proceed, avoid violence, and where this failed, secure medical treatment for the injured. OHCHR largely enjoyed open and professional relations with law enforcement officials on the ground. Protest gatherings in the context of disputes related to land or industrial action were routinely refused permission, and in some instances resulted in violence by both police and protesters. On several occasions, permission was denied on the grounds of a threat to public order, as was the case with requests by teachers to celebrate International Teachers Day and by a women’s organization to commemorate International Women’s Day. 24. OHCHR continued to cooperate with the Ministry of Interior and other actors to contribute to fostering an environment whereby citizens can assemble and peacefully discuss and express their views. The implementation guide on the new Law on Peaceful Demonstrations, developed with the Ministry of Interior and the East-West Management Institute, was published in 2011. Its purpose is to provide practical guidance to the authorities, civil society members and end-users to implement the law in accordance with international human rights standards. A draft training of trainers manual on the Guide is being completed with a view to rolling out trainings across Cambodia with the Ministry of Interior. 25. Charges of defamation, disinformation and incitement continued to be brought against individuals peacefully expressing their views, or disseminating information. The ability of individuals and groups to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, freedom assembly and freedom of association continues to be challenged. OHCHR also monitored high-profile court cases and those affecting ordinary Cambodians. In July 2010, OHCHR monitored a defamation case against opposition member of Parliament Mu Sochua, who was convicted of defaming the Prime Minister and fined despite the lack of evidence of damage to reputation, and other deficiencies in the trial. The High Commissioner opined that the conviction showed “an alarming erosion of both freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary in Cambodia”. In February 2011, a villager and a human rights defender were prosecuted for expressing the view that a land dispute should be settled by the courts before a company cleared the disputed land. In December 2010, a World Food Programme employee was arrested, in one of the first cases under the new Penal Code, and charged with “incitement to commit a felony” for printing two alleged “anti-government” articles from a website and sharing them with his colleagues. OHCHR was unable to monitor proceedings which, from arrest to conviction and imprisonment, took place within 72 hours over the course of a weekend. A recurring feature of a number of these proceedings is the lack of evidence to support the charge and, in defamation cases, a total lack of evidence as to the damage allegedly caused. In one case (that of Moeun Sonn referred to in previous reports), an appeal against a conviction on disinformation resulted in the conviction being changed to one of incitement, with no notice to the appellant nor his lawyer. A notable development was the release of Thach Saveth who had spent almost seven years in prison for the alleged murder of a trade union leader despite a lack of credible evidence and procedural irregularities. The conviction by the trial court was overturned by the Supreme Court in March 2011. These cases are representative of those monitored by OHCHR during the reporting period. 26. A proposal by OHCHR to run a series of seminars for the judiciary on the application of international human rights law to interpreting the Penal Code in the area of freedom of association has in principle been accepted by the Ministry of Justice. 27. OHCHR monitored, investigated and undertook protection interventions in a large number of cases during the reporting period, many involving communities of hundreds of people. OHCHR undertook sustained interventions in the following cases: one in which a 8