The International Committee of Jurists has given its backing to human rights activist Ny Chakrya, calling for the Cambodian government to end legal proceedings against him.

“The legal harassment of Ny Chakrya for merely raising allegations of human rights violations is itself a clear violation of human rights,” the ICJ’s international legal adviser Kinglsey Abbott is quoted saying in a press release dated Tuesday.

Chakrya, who heads the human rights and legal aid section of local NGO Adhoc, spent two hours being grilled at court on Monday.

He faces potential charges of “public defamation”, “acts of slanderous denunciation”, and “publication of commentaries to put pressure on the judiciary”.

The accusations are based on comments he made condemning the arrest and detention of two land rights activists in Siem Riep province who were convicted last month.

The ICJ released lists of international agreements signed by Cambodia which it says are being violated by the proceedings against Chakrya.