Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist was arrested and charged for incitement on Tuesday, leading to widespread concern among international rights groups and media organizations. Dara was taken into custody on Monday by military police at a toll booth near Sihanoukville.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged Dara with “incitement to disturb social security” under articles 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, which could lead to a prison sentence of up to two years. Dara’s arrest followed social media posts showing pictures of apparent damage caused by a rock quarry to Ba Phnom, a sacred mountain near a Buddhist pagoda in Prey Veng province. Local authorities rejected the claims and called for legal action against Dara. They accused him of spreading misinformation and attempting to create social unrest.
Human rights advocates, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), condemned his arrest. In a joint statement, media organizations and civil society groups urged the Cambodian government to drop all charges, stating, “The arrest of Dara is a clear attempt to intimidate and silence him and other journalists in a country where press freedoms are routinely curtailed”. Cambodia ranks 151st out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. Many of Cambodia’s independent media outlets have been forced to close under government pressure, including the Voice of Democracy, where Dara previously worked.
In response to the growing criticism, the Ministry of Information issued a statement claiming that Dara’s arrest was unrelated to his journalism. The Ministry urged NGOs and other groups to not martyr him or use his case to promote “false and baseless” claims about the state of press freedom in Cambodia.
Dara, who won the US State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report Hero award, is known for his courageous reporting on human trafficking and online scam operations in Cambodia. His work has brought global attention to scam compounds where thousands of victims are forced into fraudulent activities under threats of violence.
