Cambodia: Investigative journalist Mech Dara detained amidst growing clampdown on free expression

Image Credit: Lauren Crothers

Update (24 October 2024): PEN International has received confirmation that Mech Dara has been released on bail today, following the submission of a new bail request by his lawyer. When departing from the prison compound, Dara noted to reporters that he would still need to fight the case against him in court at a future date.

Dara’s release on bail takes place just one day after he issued a public apology in writing and on video. In the message addressed to Prime Minister Hun Manet and other officials, Dara apologised for ‘posting any information that is harmful to the country’. According to media reports, Dara’s public apology takes place after he was questioned by a judge for several hours. His release also coincides with a two-day country visit by US government official Samantha Power, who has pledged a further 38 million USD in development funds to the country. During her visit, Power raised Mech Dara’s case with Hun Manet.

While Mech Dara’s release is welcome news, he should never have been detained. PEN International calls for any remaining charges against him to be dropped immediately, and for the Cambodian authorities to ensure that journalists and others can engage in peaceful expression without fear of reprisal.

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Original statement: ‘Mech Dara’s unjust detention is just the latest example of the Cambodian government’s efforts to silence independent media through intimidation and abuse of the legal system. His detention - and the authorities’ alarming clampdown on legitimate expression - must end at once.’ Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

10 October 2024: The Cambodian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release investigative journalist Mech Dara, PEN International said today, following his arrest on trumped-up charges of incitement to disturb social security. He faces a protracted period of pre-trial detention and a potential two-year sentence if convicted. PEN International further urges the authorities to abide by their national and international human rights obligations to uphold the right to freedom of expression.

On 30 September 2024, Mech Dara was detained by members of the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia, a paramilitary unit responsible for domestic security, after his car was intercepted on an expressway while travelling towards Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. On 1 October, Dara was taken to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court where he was charged with ‘incitement to disturb social security’ under articles 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code for several ‘provocative’ social media posts before being transferred to pre-trial detention.

Dara’s arrest took place shortly after local officials in Cambodia’s Prey Veng province accused him of attempting to cause ‘social disorder or confusion’ over a since-deleted social media post that reportedly included an image of a quarry excavation at the Ba Phnom religious and cultural site. In a statement issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Information on 2 October, the government claimed that the case against Dara is unrelated to his journalism, and warned NGOs and ‘other involved parties’ against ‘making false and baseless claims of Cambodia’s state of the press’. Hours later, a government spokesperson issued a follow-up statement on social media, rebuking civil society organisations and accusing them of ‘defending those who create fake news’.

A charge of incitement can result in a maximum sentence of two-years’ imprisonment and has been routinely used by the Cambodian authorities to stifle dissenting voices and independent media. Journalists are frequently accused of incitement in apparent retaliation for their legitimate reporting over politically sensitive topics. Dara’s investigative reporting has led the way in exposing government corruption and the role that transnational criminal networks play in facilitating human trafficking in Cambodia. His arrest took place just two weeks after the US government placed financial sanctions on Ly Yong Phat, a business tycoon and Cambodian senator, for his role in serious human rights abuses including forced labour and human trafficking to facilitate online scam centres. Dara reported on Ly Yong Phat’s links to criminal enterprise as recently as the day before his arrest.

Dara’s detention has been roundly condemned by local CSOs and the wider international community, including the EU and government representatives from Australia, Canada, France, the US, and the UK, along with statements by international human rights NGOs and UN experts. PEN International joins the international community in urging the Cambodian government to immediately and unconditionally release Mech Dara and for the government to ensure that freedom of expression is respected in accordance with Article 41 of Cambodia’s constitution and its international human rights obligations.

Additional information

Mech Dara is an investigative journalist who has worked at numerous independent Cambodian news outlets including The Phnom Penh Post, The Cambodia Daily, and Voice of Democracy (VOD), which was forced to close in 2023. In the same year, Dara was recognised by the US government’s State Department as a Trafficking in Persons Report Hero for his journalistic work drawing international attention to the blight of human trafficking, receiving the award in person from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

For more information about PEN International’s work on Cambodia, please click here.

For further information please contact Ross Holder, Head of Asia/ Pacific Region at PEN International. Email: [email protected]