Cambodian police arrested eight people for displaying portraits of US President Barack Obama next to the word “SOS” on their roofs ahead of his much-anticipated visit to the nation.
The stunt was carried out on Thursday by residents living near Phnom Penh airport in protest at their threatened eviction, a local human rights group said, in the latest of a slew of bitter land disputes across the impoverished country.
The charges against the six women and two men were not immediately clear.
“They put Obama’s picture on their roofs and painted ‘SOS’ next to it,” said national police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, adding “we are questioning them about their reason for doing this”.
Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Cambodia when he flies into the capital next week to attend the annual East Asia Summit with regional leaders.
The detentions are the latest example of officials trying to suppress criticism or polish Cambodia’s image ahead of the high-profile event, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights.