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Theary Seng

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August 1, 2022

Cambodian Activist Theary Seng's Principles Land Her in Prison, on U.S. Senate's Radar

A 2010 Berkley Center interview with Theary Seng was quoted in a VOA article following Seng's arrest and trial. The original interview was part of the Practitioners and Faith-Inspired Development Interview Series, which gathers activists, religious leaders, and policy specialists to examine best practices across a range of contemporary issues.

related | Read the full 2010 conversation with Seng

Profile

This individual is not a direct affiliate of the Berkley Center. They have contributed to one or more of our events, publications, or projects. Please contact the individual at their home institution.

Theary Seng is the founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation and the founding director of CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education. From 2006 to 2009 she worked with the Center for Social Development, a Cambodian human rights organization. In addition, Seng remains involved with a number of other national and regional organizations dedicated to promoting democratization, justice and reconciliation, and human rights. Born in Phnom Penh in 1971, she lost both of her parents under the Khmer Rouge and spent five months imprisoned before emigrating to the United States in 1980; Seng permanently returned to Cambodia in 2004 after earning a BS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School. She is the author of the autobiographical Daughter of the Killing Fields (2005).

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