Prominent Cambodian journalist quits after arrest

PHNOM PENH – A respected Cambodian reporter who won an international award for uncovering alleged cyber scams told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday that he was giving up journalism, saying he had lost “courage” after being arrested by authorities and released on bail.

Police arrested Mech Dara on September 30 on charges of inciting social disorder, drawing condemnation from around the world.

He was released on bail three weeks later after apologizing to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, in a video filmed while in prison.

UNDER FIRE Cambodian journalist Mech Dara gestures to members of the media as he sits in a car upon his release from Kandal Provincial Prison near Phnom Penh on October 24, 2024. PHOTO AFP

“I decided to retire from journalism because of the arrest, the interrogations and the incarceration,” Dara told AFP.

“I’m still scared,” he said, adding that authorities used excessive force during his arrest, then questioned him throughout the night afterward.

“I lost my courage. It attacked my spirit and I no longer have courage,” Dara said, referring to his arrest and time in prison.

He also asked the court to drop the charges against him.

Hun Manet posted pictures of himself meeting Dara on Monday, including one showing the pair embracing.

Dara said he informed Hun Manet of his decision to quit journalism during the meeting, which took place a day after his release.

Firm reporting scam

Police detained Dara, 36, after stopping a car carrying him and his family in Sihanoukville, a coastal city where many suspected cyber-scam operations take place.

His reports have appeared in various international news outlets and he worked for the Cambodian Voice of Democracy before the authorities closed it down in February 2023.

Dara has since used her social media platforms to share news content, particularly regarding the proliferation of “scam farms” – criminal operations that defraud online victims of large sums of money and fuel human trafficking in the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year presented Dara with a Hero Award, which recognizes efforts against human trafficking, for investigations into exploitation at online scam complexes.

The award hailed his “courageous reporting on human trafficking for the purposes of violent crime”, saying it had led to improvements in the government’s response to the issue.

His arrest came a day after he posted an image on social media showing a tourist site demolished to make way for a quarry, according to the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association.

Local authorities labeled the now-deleted images “fake news” and demanded that Dara be punished for publishing them.

After announcing charges against Dara, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court accused him of posting messages on social media platforms intended to “spark anger (and) make people misunderstand the leadership of the Cambodian government.”

The charge of incitement is frequently used by Cambodian authorities against activists, and Dara faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

Cambodia ranks near the bottom of international press freedom rankings, and rights groups have long accused the government of using legal cases as a tool to silence dissenting voices.