Tuot Saron is serving a three-year prison sentence on what are believed to be politically motivated charges.He is an activist in the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the largest opposition party in Cambodia, and the former head of Pongro commune, in Baray district of Kompong Thom province. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Tuot Saron was arrested in Baray district on 18 March 2008 and charged with being an accomplice to unlawful confinement. The authorities also charged three other SRP activists with the same crime; they went into hiding before they could be arrested.

After one year in pre-trial detention, Tuot Saron was brought to trial on 20 March 2009 at Kompong Thom Provincial Court. He was convicted as charged and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, and a fine of USD 2,500. The three others charged were tried in absentia and sentenced to between three and five years’ imprisonment.