Cambodia: Investigative journalist arrested on unfounded allegations

(Bangkok) – Cambodian authorities have arrested and charged an award-winning journalist, apparently in retaliation for his investigative journalism, Human Rights Watch said today. Mech Dara, 36, recently reported on human trafficking and cybercrime and criticized the government's role.

Military police arrested Dara on September 30, 2024, while he was traveling with his family in his car on a toll road on the expressway heading towards Phnom Penh. A court accused him of inciting social unrest under Articles 494 and 495 of the Penal Code. Before his arrest, pro-government media had described his recent social media posts about a quarry excavation as “fake news.” Local authorities had accused Dara of trying to “cause social unrest and confusion” and called on the Information Ministry to take legal action against him.

“The arrest of award-winning journalist Mech Dara on false charges shows that the Cambodian government is committed to stamping out all remaining independent media in the country,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Cambodian authorities should investigate the cyber fraud centers and other cases of corruption uncovered by journalists and human rights groups, rather than intensifying their attack on freedom of expression and media freedom.”

CamboJA News reported that military police in six cars arrested Dara and told his family they had an arrest warrant, but did not explain the charge. Dara was able to send a text message to local human rights group LICADHO to inform them of his arrest. LICADHO replied repeatedly but received no response from Dara.

Dara's whereabouts were unknown for about 20 hours after his arrest, until the Phnom Penh Municipal Court confirmed that he had been held in custody at the neighboring Kandal Provincial Prison since October 1. Dara was not allowed to meet with his lawyers or relatives before his detention and was questioned in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in the afternoon.

Dara's lawyers said he was charged with sedition for social media posts he made from September 20 to 29. Cambodian authorities have often used sedition, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, to suppress government critics. Human rights groups, media organizations and others joined in calling for Dara's immediate release, saying his arrest was a “clear attempt to intimidate and silence him and other journalists.”

Cambodian authorities had already arrested Dara in 2022 after he reported on the rescue of Vietnamese nationals from a suspected cyber fraud site in Sihanoukville. Such companies participate in global online fraud through forced labor. In 2023, the U.S. Department of State recognized Dara's extensive reporting on cross-border human trafficking and fraudulent liaisons with the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Hero Award. It said that Dara's reporting “attracted international attention and enhanced the Cambodian government's anti-trafficking efforts” and that he used social media platforms to “continue to share news content, including sharing information about human trafficking and exploitation in Cambodia”.

On September 12, the United States imposed sanctions on Cambodian tycoon Ly Yong Phat, his conglomerate LYP Group Co., the O-Smach Resort and three hotels owned or controlled by Ly, citing his ties to forced labor in Cyber ​​Fraud Centers. Although the government claims officials have raided suspicious locations, fraud centers in Cambodia continue to operate with impunity. The 2024 TIP report also noted that ongoing corruption and official complicity in human trafficking crimes remained widespread and widespread. In 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that at least 100,000 people were enslaved in Cambodia to commit online fraud.

The Cambodian government effectively controls all national television and radio stations that broadcast in Khmer, as well as newspapers that report in Khmer, the national language. In February 2023, the Cambodian government effectively eliminated all traces of media freedom in the country through the shutdown Voice of democracyone of the last remaining independent domestic news channels. Much of the coverage was also unpopular with senior government officials, including coverage that also featured human trafficking of foreigners in cyber fraud operations supported by senior ruling party officials.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, while promising to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, largely continued the abusive policies of his father Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly 40 years. Despite calls from United Nations human rights experts to address the repression of Civil society and human rights defenders, he has tightened restrictions on fundamental freedoms, intensified the persecution of dissidents in Cambodia and increased criminal sanctions against peaceful dissent.

“Concerned governments should call on the Cambodian government to immediately release Mech Dara and all those unjustly detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association,” Lau said. “Development partners should make it clear to the Hun Manet government that it must reverse its efforts to eradicate fundamental freedoms.”