Coming amid several high-profile arrests of opposition members and human rights workers, top court officials and judicial police met in Phnom Penh yesterday to discuss boosting the sector’s performance.

Presided over by Appeal Court prosecutor-general Ouk Savuth, the group discussed issues ranging from drug crime to prison conditions, said courts spokesman Ly Sophanna, who would not reveal whether a recently slated proposal to encourage communication between judges and the Ministry of Justice was on the table.

Sophanna kept his remarks general, saying the meeting achieved a good result. “We introduced some mechanisms for working together in order to gain better results in the future.”

In recent weeks, a slew of legal cases have been brought against members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, rights group Adhoc, an election official and a United Nations worker.

Critics have long accused the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of using the courts to persecute its opponents.