Journalist in Kampong Thom arrested and imprisoned

An online journalist in Kampong Thom province, who made a live video criticizing the director of a provincial environmental department and the authorities for alleged deforestation activities in the province, has been arrested and imprisoned on charges of incitement and defamation.
The journalist was arrested by provincial police on May 24, 2024, after the Provincial Environmental Department filed a lawsuit against him in the provincial court on May 20 for incitement and defamation.
The complaint filed at the court showed that the Provincial Environmental Department, represented by lawyer Srey Sophannara, accused the journalist of several alleged violations under the Cambodian Criminal Code. They are incitement to discrimination under Article 496, incitement to commit felony under Article 495 and defamation under Article 305. The complaint mentioned that the information disseminated by the journalist via Telegram and Facebook “was not true” and tantamount to “incitement”.
The journalist was sent to Kampong Thom prison for pretrial detention on May 26.
On May 14, 2024, the journalist made a live commentary in front of an abundant environmental post in Sandan district’s Sochet commune, saying that a forest area which was cleared was linked to the environmental officials. He regularly does live commentaries about deforestation in Kampong Thom’s Prey Lang.
This is not the journalist’s first court case. Last year, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in another case but was released on bail. He filed an appeal against the lower court’s decision.
The journalist’s brother said on the day of arrest, the journalist took a taxi home in Tumring district to central Kampong Thom to prepare for his appeal hearing on May 28. However, when he arrived at the bus station in Kampong Thom, he was immediately arrested by the police.