Cambodian journalist who exposed scams charged for online publications

On October 2, 2024By Rgal Nv

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A Cambodian investigative journalist who exposed online scams and corruption was charged Tuesday with a criminal offense punishable by up to two years in prison for information he published on social networks.

Independent journalist Mech Dara was arrested by military police at a toll booth on Monday as he returned with his family to Phnom Penh, the capital, after a seaside vacation.

Ei Rin, a spokesperson for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, told The Associated Press that Mech Dara was charged with inciting to commit a crime or provoke social unrest for articles he posted online during four days at the end of September.

The penalty for this offense is imprisonment of six months to two years, accompanied by a fine. He said Mech Dara had been sent to remand to Kandal provincial prison outside the capital.

The arrest was condemned by journalists who worked with him as well as press freedom and rights groups.

“Cambodian authorities must drop and drop charges of criminal incitement against investigative journalist Mech Dara,” the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative to the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Mech Dara’s arrest shows “how far the Cambodian government is willing to go to stifle independent reporting.”

About four dozen Cambodian media organizations and civil society groups issued a joint statement calling for his immediate release and to “end all forms of harassment against media organizations and journalists.”

The release hails Mech Dara as “a front-line investigative journalist whose reporting over the past decade has exposed corruption, environmental destruction and human trafficking in fraudulent schemes across the country, and who has consistently advocated for accountability and justice.”

The US State Department issued a statement saying it was “deeply troubled” by Mech Dara’s arrest. It notes that he was awarded the Trafficking in Persons Report’s Hero 2023 award for his work and encourages Cambodian authorities “to engage with diverse voices and opinions and foster a free and independent press.”

Mech Dara previously worked as a journalist for the Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post, two once-vibrant English-language newspapers forced to close under government pressure, as well as the Voice of Democracy radio and website, which were shuttered by the government last year. .

In its latest report, the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders ranked Cambodia 151st out of 180 in its international press freedom rankings.

The immediate action that appeared to trigger Mech Dara’s arrest was the publication of two photos from the southeastern province of Prey Veng that appeared to suggest that a revered mountain topped with a Buddhist pagoda was being destroyed by stone quarrying.

Prey Veng officials released a statement on Facebook denying this was the case. They called on the Ministry of Information to take legal action against him.

Although he has written about the environment, Mech Dara is best known for his reporting on human trafficking linked to online scam operations. These are people who are tricked into signing up for what they believe are legitimate jobs in Cambodia, only to find themselves virtually enslaved in closely guarded compounds where they are forced to defraud users online.

In a scam known as “pig butchery,” they are taught to slowly build trust with their targets, often involving a romantic relationship, before convincing them to hand over large sums of money for fake investments . The practice has existed for several years, primarily in Cambodia and Myanmar, and has recently attracted increased legal attention in the United States, where millions of dollars have been swindled.

The United States in September imposed economic sanctions on one of Cambodia’s top tycoons over allegations linking him to forced labor, human trafficking and lucrative online scams.

Ly Yong Phat, one of Cambodia’s richest men, is also a Cambodian senator and a prominent member of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Manet. Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep regret over the unjust decision” to sanction Ly Yong Phat and suggested the move could harm bilateral relations.