Social development
Human rights
Bringing truth to the public: Asian media leaders tackle disinformation at AMS 2025
As the 20th Asia Media Summit (AMS 2025) launched in Siem Reap on July 22, a resounding message emerged from media leaders across the Asia-Pacific region. ...
Hong Raksmey
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/bringing-truth-to-the-public-asian-media-leaders-tackle-disinformation-at-ams-2025
Cambodia will raise ‘fake news’ issues at Asia Media Summit, Thailand absent
Cambodia will spotlight the growing challenges of fake news, malinformation and disinformation at this year’s 20th Asia Media Summit (AMS), which will take place in Siem Reap from July 21 to 24. Notably, Thailand will not participate in this year’s summit. ...
Hong Raksmey
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-will-raise-fake-news-issues-at-asia-media-summit-thailand-absent
Eight more foreigners charged as online scam crackdown arrests reach almost 3,000
The investigating judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal placed eight suspects linked to online scams in temporary pre-trial detention on July 20, as part of the latest efforts to supress these crimes. The current campaign has seen almost 3,000 suspects arrested. ...
Senator’s casino, fleeing compound not hit in growing scam raids
Raids on suspected online scam rings rolled out across Cambodia on Thursday night, but major known compounds were left untouched – even as hundreds were seen fleeing one of them and boarding buses, underscoring reports that operations had continued despite a supposed crackdown last year. ...
Coby Hobbs and Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/senators-casino-fleeing-compound-not-hit-in-growing-scam-raids/
Online fraud crackdown continues; China pledges swift repatriation of Chinese suspects
As of July 19, law enforcement authorities in the capital and provinces had raided 52 suspected online scam operations in Phnom Penh and 14 provinces. They have detained a total of 2,767 suspects, including 843 Chinese nationals. Of them, authorities have sent 11 suspects to ...
Officials ordered to dismantle scams, but past failures shadow effort
The Cambodian government has ordered a nationwide crackdown on online scams, citing rising threats from foreign criminal networks, as international pressure mounts over alleged state complicity and Thailand ramps up its own response amid a tense border dispute. ...
Seoung Nimol and Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/officials-ordered-to-dismantle-scams-but-past-failures-shadow-effort/
Boeung Tamok villagers sentenced to one month jail for protesting land deal
Former nine Boeung Tamok villagers have been sentenced to one month jail for protesting against a land acquisition, despite agreeing to accept the government’s land exchange policy. The verdict caused confusion and sadness among the community. ...
Sovann Sreypich
https://cambojanews.com/boeung-tamok-villagers-sentenced-to-one-month-jail-for-protesting-land-deal/
July 16 online scam crackdowns see almost 750 foreigners detained
Just a day after Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered a renewed crackdown on online scam operations, the authorities have arrested nearly 750 suspects across three provinces and the capital. ...
Niem Chheng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/july-16-online-scam-crackdowns-see-almost-750-foreigners-detained
Vietnamese online scammers busted in Sihanoukville
The Preah Sihanouk Provincial Police Commissioner have reiterated their firm commitment to suppressing all crimes and maintaining security for tourists in the coastal province, particularly regarding online fraud. Last week, authorities detained over 40 Vietnamese nationals for cybercrime. ...
Niem Chheng
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/vietnamese-online-scammers-busted-in-sihanoukville
Civic space monitor flags judicial crackdowns, rising threats to dissent in Cambodia
Cambodia’s courts remain politicized and opaque, reinforcing impunity for those who target activists and government critics, rights group CIVICUS said Wednesday. ...
Seoung Nimol
https://cambojanews.com/civic-space-monitor-flags-judicial-crackdowns-rising-threats-to-dissent-in-cambodia/
Nine years on, activists mark Kem Ley’s murder, demand justice
More than 100 unionists, youth activists and opposition members gathered at a Phnom Penh gas station on Thursday where political analyst and rights activist Kem Ley was shot dead nine years ago while drinking his morning coffee. ...
Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/nine-years-on-activists-mark-kem-leys-murder-demand-justice/
Beware: AI-generated scams targeting charity donations
Recently, several social media users have shared images of a boy holding his little brother, alongside a picture of their mother who had supposedly passed away, claiming to raise money for humanitarian efforts to help orphans. ...
Hong Raksmey
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/beware-ai-generated-scams-targeting-charity-donations
Revocation of citizenship on the cards for those who attack ‘national interests’
The amendment to the Constitution to revoke the citizenship of Cambodians who collude with foreigners against the Kingdom’s national interests is imminent. Today, both the prime minister and the president of the Senate emphasised the necessity of this law, comparing it to similar laws already ...
Cambodia denied entry to over 1,200, deported nearly 6,000 offenders first half of year
Over 1,200 foreigners were denied entry to Cambodia in the first six months of 2025, while the number of national and international travellers entering and exiting through Cambodia’s international checkpoints reached 3.6 million, a nearly 15 per cent increase compared to the same period in ...
One year on, Mother Nature Cambodia activists remain behind bars as families and NGOs demand their release
One year after five Mother Nature Cambodia activists were imprisoned, civil society groups and families are calling for their immediate release. To mark the anniversary of their detention, rights groups launched a five-day campaign demanding justice, highlighting how their continued detention harms environmental protection efforts ...
Sovann Sreypich
https://cambojanews.com/one-year-on-mother-nature-cambodia-activists-remain-behind-bars-as-families-and-ngos-demand-their-release/
Two Korean-owned banks allegedly committed human rights abuses via aggressive lending practices in Cambodia
Two Korean-owned commercial banks in Cambodia have been accused of human rights abuses against vulnerable borrowers, where they allegedly used aggressive debt practices, according to a new report by a Korean NGO. ...
‘Fake news’ on border issue surged in Q2, warn information ministry
In recent months, the Ministry of Information has recorded a significant spike in fake news, particularly surrounding the Cambodian-Thai border issue. ...
Hong Raksmey
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/-fake-news-on-border-issue-surged-in-q2-warn-information-ministry
U.S. Funding Cut of $150M Puts Global Independent Media at Risk
Independent media outlets worldwide are facing an unprecedented crisis, as revealed in an in-depth report released Friday, which found that the 2025 U.S. aid cuts—removal of $150 million in annual support—triggered widespread closures, layoffs, and a surge in disinformation across dozens of countries. ...
Seoung Nimol
https://cambojanews.com/u-s-funding-cut-of-150m-puts-global-independent-media-at-risk/
Amnesty accuses Cambodian government of ignoring human rights abuses in scam compounds
Amnesty International accused the Cambodian government of deliberately ignoring widespread human rights abuses—including human trafficking, forced labor, child labor, slavery, and torture—carried out in more than 50 scamming compounds across the country. ...
Seoung Nimol
https://cambojanews.com/amnesty-accuses-cambodian-government-of-ignoring-human-rights-abuses-in-scam-compounds/
Legal threats, shrinking aid and press freedom threaten Cambodian journalism
Press freedom in Cambodia continues to deteriorate amid rising legal threats, shrinking funds, and tighter restrictions, a report by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) revealed, indicating a landscape of fear for media practitioners. ...
Sovann Sreypich
https://cambojanews.com/legal-threats-shrinking-aid-and-press-freedom-threaten-cambodian-journalism/
Thailand's complex role in Southeast Asia's scam epidemic
A series of alarming reports from Thai media outlets have painted Cambodia as a prime “scam hub”, but an insight documentary by Channel News Asia (CNA), featured Thailand’s pivotal role as a transit point for trafficked victims heading to scam centres across the region. ...
Five admit involvement in $36.9M scam and laundering ring in Cambodia
Despite five men pleading guilty in the US to being involved in a multi-million dollar scam and money laundering operation in Cambodia, according to the US Department of Justice, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior refutes claims that scam centres exist in the country, arguing that ...
Mao Sreypich
https://kiripost.com/stories/five-admit-involvement-in-369m-scam-and-laundering-ring-in-cambodia
Imprisoned activist Seng Theary halts hunger strike, her fourth since 2022
A prominent human rights advocate Seng Theary, who is serving a six-year prison term, halted her 14-day hunger strike on the ninth day due to health concerns, as civil society groups called for her release. ...
Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/imprisoned-activist-seng-theary-halts-hunger-strike-her-fourth-since-2022/
Dozens of affected families of Sesan Dam seek compensation, but gov’t says the offer has ended
Some 40 indigenous people celebrated World Environment Day, while calling on the authorities and stakeholders to address an unresolved compensation demand lasting nearly 10 years. ...
Khuon Narim
https://cambojanews.com/dozens-of-affected-families-of-sesan-dam-seek-compensation-but-govt-says-the-offer-has-ended/