Ny Nak, an outspoken Cambodian critic who was assaulted along with his wife by men with batons in 2023, was arrested on charges of defamation brought forth by a cabinet minister regarding posts he made on Facebook criticizing the Ministry of Agriculture.

Nak had previously served an 18 month prison sentence after publicly criticizing the government for its Covid-19 restrictions and was violently attacked in September 2023 by masked men after he issued more public condemnations of the government. These masked attacks have been targeted mainly towards the members of the opposition, and no one has yet been brought to justice for this violence. Cambodian Labor Minister Sun Mesa defended the arrest on social media, claiming that while Ny Nak had the right to speak, the government also had the right to sue him for “speaking without truth.”

This is the latest in an alleged crackdown againast government dissenters in Cambodia. Another critic of Cambodia’s leadership, Kem Sokha, was sentenced to 27 years in prison for treason and “conspiring with foreign powers.” Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), claimed Tuesday that current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, whose father Hun Sen’s time as Prime Minister was marred with allegations of silencing dissenters, “is following closely in the footsteps of his father in restricting the rights to express opinions, join independent organizations, and hold peaceful public protests.”