Cambodian Prisons: Health and Human Rights Crisis Amid the Coronavirus Outbreak

A World in Lockdown

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe in early 2020, governments everywhere scrambled to respond with a mix of precautionary and drastic measures. Much of the world entered lockdown: travel was restricted, non-essential work suspended, schools closed, roads blocked, gatherings banned, and citizens urged to stay home, wash their hands regularly, practice social distancing, and wear face masks. Some governments went further still, imposing strict curfews.

In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte took an especially hardline approach, declaring a "State of Calamity" and warning that non-compliant citizens could be shot. His warning was aimed at ordinary citizens struggling under the pressures of lockdown — not at the tens of thousands already sitting in overcrowded prisons as a result of his war on drugs. This raises an important question: what happens to inmates and detainees during a pandemic like this one?

Countries including the Czech Republic, Italy, Australia, and Cambodia responded by suspending in-person visits, restricting physical contact, and quarantining new inmates. While well-intentioned, these measures have often proven too limited, too late, or simply insufficient given the scale of the problem. 

The Case for Reducing Prison Populations

Multiple researchers have pointed to the same conclusion: curbing the spread of COVID-19 requires actively reducing prison populations. Prisons around the world are notoriously overcrowded, and inmates are frequently malnourished — conditions that make these facilities fertile ground for disease. Because most prisons were never designed with social distancing in mind, inmates are often packed closely together, making outbreaks difficult, if not impossible, to contain.

The United Nations has recognized this danger. On March 25, 2020, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged governments worldwide to release prisoners, noting that the virus had already begun spreading inside detention facilities in countries such as China, Iran, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She called on authorities to identify and release older, sick, and low-risk inmates as a matter of urgency.

Governments Responding to the Call

Many world leaders acted swiftly, either ahead of or in response to the UN's appeal:

• Afghanistan released 10,000 inmates
• Ethiopia's president pardoned 4,011 prisoners 
• Tunisia released 3,220 inmates within two weeks 
• Canada and Germany each released roughly 1,000 inmates 
• Sudan released 4,000 prisoners 
• Iran released more than 100,000 prisoners, including a convicted British spy 
• Kenya released 3,837 inmates 
• Somalia pardoned 148 prisoners 
• Libya freed more than 450 inmates 
• Bahrain's king pardoned 901 prisoners

The United States, meanwhile, prepared to release tens of thousands of low-risk prisoners in an effort to slow the virus's spread. 

Southeast Asia's Mixed Response

Within the ASEAN region, Indonesia — the bloc's most populous member — took the lead, releasing 30,000 prisoners, including 53 foreign nationals. This move helped bring Indonesia's prison population closer to its official capacity of 131,931, easing both public health risks and administrative strain. President Joko Widodo's decision, however, has yet to be matched elsewhere in the region.

Cambodia stands out as a troubling example. The country holds more than 36,500 prisoners and pre-trial detainees across 28 facilities — a prison population running at roughly 4.3 times official capacity, which stands at just 8,500. 

Two facilities illustrate the scale of the problem:

Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's largest and most well-known facility, was built to hold 1,500 inmates but currently houses more than 8,000.
Siem Reap Prison, which by international standards should hold fewer than 600 inmates, is now home to more than 3,000 prisoners and detainees, including over 40 foreign nationals. 

Conditions Inside: Disease, Neglect, and Death

Beyond overcrowding, conditions inside Cambodian prisons are harsh, unsanitary, and largely without adequate medical care. Diseases such as scabies and tuberculosis have spread among inmates for years, largely unchecked. Deaths in custody are common enough to draw little attention or outrage.

In 2015, an Australian inmate died from health complications worsened by scabies. More recently, on March 23, 2020, a British inmate died of a heart attack after reportedly going into cardiac arrest and waiting more than eight hours for medical attention. While his death was not related to COVID-19, it underscores the risks facing inmates should the virus take hold inside these facilities.

Fear of exactly this scenario has already triggered unrest elsewhere. In Brazil, panic over the pandemic contributed to a mass breakout of more than 1,000 inmates across four prisons. In Colombia, a prison riot fueled by similar fears left 23 people dead. In Italy, a riot under comparable circumstances allowed 80 inmates to escape. In Buriram, Thailand, seven inmates fled amid COVID-19-related fears. Similar incidents have been reported in Venezuela and Syria. 

Calls for Action

Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have urged Cambodian authorities to reduce the population of its detention facilities. Phil Robertson, the organization's deputy Asia director, has warned that Cambodia's severely overcrowded prisons risk becoming COVID-19 disaster zones, and has called for the swift release of eligible prisoners alongside rigorous testing to identify and isolate the sick. Human Rights Watch has also urged foreign donors to press the Cambodian government to follow international guidance and human rights standards — action the organization argues would serve the interests of prisoners, prison staff, and the broader Cambodian public alike.

A Test of Leadership

With a global pandemic underway, a fragile economy, mounting debt concerns, and considerable uncertainty ahead, experts have warned that if Cambodia's prisons remain overcrowded and under-resourced, the resulting health and human rights crisis could spill beyond prison walls and worsen the country's broader outbreak. In a moment defined by a pandemic of this scale, a compassionate, humanitarian response carries more weight than a purely hardline one.

There is a strong case for Prime Minister Hun Sen's government to treat this moment as an opportunity: releasing prisoners and detainees convicted of non-violent offenses, those who have served most of their sentences, and particularly vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly inmates, those with pre-existing respiratory conditions, and foreign nationals. Extending clemency to political prisoners as well would be a meaningful gesture — though one that may be unlikely given the current political climate.

With Sangkran (Cambodian New Year) approaching in 2020 — a time when the Prime Minister traditionally grants goodwill gestures, including pardons — the question remains open: will Hun Sen follow the example set by leaders like Indonesia's Joko Widodo, who released 30,000 prisoners to help curb the spread of COVID-19? Or will his government wait until the combined pressures of economic hardship and public health crisis leave no other choice?