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An internet journalist was sentenced to 2 years’ jail after broadcasting info that apparently jeopardized the Cambodian military through the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute. Press teams decried the conviction as undermining free press within the nation.
On Tuesday, the Oddar Meanchey Provincial Courtroom dominated that Lout Sophal was responsible of demoralizing the military and incitement to commit a felony, his lawyer Em Chantha confirmed.
“I can’t settle for this determination as a result of what he did was not intentional. He was attempting to tell the federal government,” Chantha mentioned, including that he would focus on together with his shopper whether or not to attraction the conviction.
Sophal was arrested in February this 12 months, after his February 7 report on frontline troops dealing with water shortages.
Sophal’s spouse Voeun Lalang expressed disappointment on the courtroom’s ruling to imprison her husband.
“It’s unfair as a result of he was contributing info to the nation. As a substitute, he has been despatched to jail,” she mentioned. “He reported the info. He didn’t commit any incitement.”
She urged the courtroom to launch her husband instantly, lamenting that she would now should solely bear the burden of supporting their three youngsters, aged between three and 17.
“Most of our revenue comes from him, however now I must pay greater than $500 a month in financial institution debt,” Lalang mentioned.
Press associations referred to as on the federal government to guard journalists amid the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute, saying that the legal fees in opposition to journalists undermine press freedom.
“The 2-year jail sentence in opposition to Sophal impacts freedom of expression, particularly journalists who dare to report on delicate points,” mentioned Chhan Sokunthea, government director of Cambodian Middle for Impartial Media.
She urged the related authorities, notably the Nationwide Protection Ministry, to analyze whether or not Sophal’s report about water shortages was correct earlier than bringing fees in opposition to him.
Nop Vy, government director of Cambodian Journalists Alliance Affiliation (CamboJA), echoed Sokunthea, noting that the authorized actions are “extra dangerous” for journalists than reporting on the border battle.
“There may be not a lot readability. They need to clearly outline the legislation concerning the boundary [conflict], demoralization of the military and incitement to commit a felony,” he mentioned.
In any other case, the media needn’t play their half informing native and worldwide communities about impacts of the warfare, Vy mentioned.
“I name for the applying of worldwide legal guidelines and elementary freedoms for public curiosity [stories] reasonably than extensively decoding the legislation the place freedom is proscribed,” he mentioned
Because the starting of the Cambodia-Thailand border battle, three journalists, and a social influencer, Thy Sovantha, have been convicted of treason-related and military demoralizing fees.
Greater than 30 opposition figures, activists and journalists have been arrested between July 2025 and February 2026 for his or her social media posts about Cambodia’s border clashes with Thailand.
Cambodia ranked 161 out of 181 international locations within the 2025 World Press Freedom Index and stays among the many world’s lowest-performing international locations by way of rule of legislation. The federal government has been alleged of repeatedly dismissing important experiences by worldwide rights teams as being biased.
Hel Chhenghong, spokesperson of the Oddar Meanchey courtroom, declined to remark. The identical with Data Ministry spokesperson Tep Asnarith who mentioned he had not seen the decision but.
