On April 3, 2001 Montha Kuan (age 27) and Sai Kuan (35, mother of four children under the age of 18) were sentenced to death on drug charges in Thai courts. Despite concerns over the conduct of the arrest and prosecution, the appeals process for the Cambodian sisters has now been exhausted. Human rights organisation including LICADHO, Amnesty International, Forum Asia, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia and others in the human rights community have petitioned His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, to commute the death sentences to prison terms. This is the last available option for the Kuan sisters, who could be executed by lethal injection before the end of the year without the intervention of the King.

Foreign Prisoner Support Service opposes the death penalty in accordance with the most fundamental human right of all people.... the right to life. We have deep sympathy for the victims of drug-related crimes and respect the need to take strong action against these serious offenses, but we also hope that human dignity might be preserved to enable redemption.

The sisters have had no contact with their respective families for 9 years due to a lack of funds that would enable the families to travel to Bangkok.