Female journalist asked by CRF staff to delete article, reveal informant

Description

A female journalist said she received a phone call and text message from a man claiming to represent Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF), asking her to delete an article she wrote about Cambodia’s rice export, titled “EU rejects Cambodian rice”, which was published on January 23, 2025.
On the day of publication, the man asked her to delete the article but she declined, saying that the report was based on documents provided by a reliable source. The journalist said the man asked her to reveal the source who shared the information with her, which she also declined. The journalist added that the man shouted at her during the call and later texted, insisting that the article be deleted.
In a screenshot of the text message shared by the journalist, the man wrote “Please provide the name [of the person] who shared the report. Kindly remove the article”. The text in Khmer language further said: “Stealing someone’s documents for publication [is a] violation of professionalism. Before publishing, why not seek clarification from [CRF]? Are you working to destroy the whole [rice] industry to serve your interest?”
The journalist said she was worried if legal action would be taken against her.

Information
Number of attacked persons or entities related to media
1
Do they work as freelance or media?
Yes
Position in media
Status of journalists
Gender
Female
Age
Country
Phnom Penh Capital
Full name or name of group
Unidentified
Gender
Attack mention about gender background/sexual wording?
No
Date of incident
Type of incident
Verbal Intimidation
Please type the data source here (text)
The case has been verified by CamboJA