A Cambodian policeman carries a protester into the back of a police truck as they are detained during a demonstration near Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh on May 9, 2016. (TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images)

Cambodian Official Claims Spanish Activist Is A Witch, Internet Baffled

Forbes | 1 September 2016

When Spanish activist and researcher Marga Bujosa Segado was deported from Cambodia on August 16, it was a terrible blow for civil society. She was arrested for attending a protest (on behalf of two other activists), and was promptly carted off to jail, a move many say violated her universal rights of free speech and assembly.

Getting arrested in Cambodia is about as unpleasant as it sounds, but unlike other Westerners, The Cambodia Daily recently learned that Bujosa Segado got the full treatment: a beating by police officers, who kicked her in the torso and stomach. 

While arrested Westerners are often spared this indignity (unlike Cambodians) they seem to have made an exception in Bujosa Segado’s instance. Why was this the case?

Because she was probably a “witch.”

Or at least that’s what The Cambodia Daily reported when they spoke with Major General Heisela, who said police officers were worried when she started taking  of them. 

“We were worried she might be a sorcerer and then take photos to do black magic on our stomachs,” he said. 

“Everyone knows the Spanish practice magic,” he said. “They can fly on brooms.”

The internet reacted as expected, with one part horror and one part fascination, including some long time Cambodia reporters.

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