Investigative journalist honored by US arrested in Cambodia – AsAmNews

A journalist honored by the US State Department for uncovering an online fraud center in Cambodia has been arrested by Cambodian military police.

Authorities arrested Mech Dara at a checkpoint on Monday as he sat in his car with his family, the Telegraph reports.

Just a day earlier, he had posted a photo on Facebook showing alleged environmental damage at a quarry, a fear the government saw as an attempt to stoke political dissent.

According to the Independent, Dara texted a human rights group about his arrest before authorities apparently confiscated his phone. Military police have also reportedly confirmed the arrest.

Last year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave Dara a Hero Award for exposing a complex of human trafficking workers who are forced to run scams designed to defraud unsuspecting consumers online around the world, including the United States.

Known as pig slaughter scams, scammers fatten up their victims by initially rewarding them with high returns on their investment. Once victims increase their investments, their money disappears.

“Cambodia appears to be more and more similar every day to the authoritarian one-party regimes of Vietnam and China with their complete intolerance of media freedom,” Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates said in a statement.

The State Department was informed of Dara's arrest.

“We are following developments closely and with great concern,” it said.

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