On 2 January 2025, a journalist from the Khmer Independent news outlet, who is also a member of CamboJA, was warned by police that he could be arrested if he continued live reporting on a villagers’ protest related to a land dispute.
In an interview with CamboJA following the incident, the journalist said that at around 9:00 a.m., he went to cover a protest by villagers in Kean Svay district, Kandal province. The villagers were protesting against a company allegedly owned by Okhna Khun Sear, accusing it of land grabbing. At the protest site in front of the company, a police officer approached the journalist and ordered him to enter the company’s compound without providing any explanation. The journalist refused.
At around 10:20 a.m., the villagers continued their protest by marching to the Kean Svay district hall to seek intervention from the authorities. The journalist followed the group and continued recording the protest. Upon arriving in front of the district hall, four police officers approached him and asked him to go inside the building to meet their superior. The journalist questioned the request and again refused to comply.
According to the journalist, the police then accused him of inciting the villagers to protest and warned that he would be arrested if he did not cooperate.
Fearing arrest, the journalist left the scene immediately. “After hearing this, I asked to retrieve my motorbike and immediately left the protest site,” he said, adding that the intimidation was intended to prevent him from reporting on the protest.