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by EK MADRA, Reuters

Thomas Hammarberg, the U.N. secretary general's representative for human rights in Cambodia, said there was no evidence to back up charges of robbery and criminal damage against the pair.

"I haven't found any shred of evidence against them and they have now been in prison for about three weeks," Hammarberg told reporters after talks with National Assembly president, Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

Kim Sen and Meas Minear, of local human rights group Licado, were arrested on December 21 in the port town of Sihanoukville, 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, during protests against toxic waste dumping by a Taiwanese firm.

The discovery of the mercury-tainted waste sparked riots in which one person was killed as protesters sacked offices of local officials they blamed for allowing its import.

Four other people died in accidents during a panicked exodus of more than 10,000 residents fearing contamination.

Rights groups denied that the two workers had been involved in any robbery or had caused any damage.

"It's not right that human rights workers who are trying to do their best to monitor the human rights situation are put in prison," Hammarberg said.

"We really want this issue to be resolved quickly and my recommendation to the judicial authorities is that these two will be released now," he said.

Former premier Ranariddh was also concerned about the two rights workers, Hammarberg said.

"He expressed his personal concern about that fact that these two are still in prison on grounds which seem to be very unclear," he said.

Hammarberg said he and Ranariddh had also discussed a proposed tribunal for leaders of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla group.

A team of jurists appointed by the United Nations visited Cambodia in November to assess evidence against leaders of the group under whose 1975-79 rule an estimated 1.7 million people were killed or died of disease, starvation or hard labour.

"I informed His Royal Highness that for the moment the United Nations, its group of experts, is considering proposals about how to go about a tribunal or some other legal proceedings," Hammarberg said.

The team of jurists is due to present its proposals to U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan next month.

"They will come up with a proposal about how to go about the proceedings, whether in Cambodia or outside, what legal documents to use...the whole way of dong it."

Two senior Khmer Rouge leaders, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea surrendered to the government late last month but the possibility of putting them on trial was thrown into doubt when Prime Minister Hun Sen said to do so might not be in the interests of national reconciliation.

Hun Sen later said it was up to the courts to decide if they should stand trial.

Notorious Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died last April. Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea remain at liberty in a former guerrilla zone in the west of the country under the control of the group's one-time foreign minister, Ieng Sary.