28 Apr 2012

Environmental activist killed

5:38 am on 28 April 2012

An investigation into illegal logging in south west Cambodia has resulted in the death of a high-profile environmental activist.

Chut Wutty was shot during a confrontation with police in Koh Kong province.

Details of the incident are unclear, but police say an officer was also killed in the incident.

Mr Wutty was driving through a remote area of the province with two journalists from the Cambodia Daily newspaper at the time.

He had been helping indigenous people organise protests against land concessions in protected forests.

He had received death threats in the past and the BBC reports he sometimes carried an AK-47 rifle in his car.

The two journalists travelling with Mr Wutty were initially held by police, but have now been released.