Civil and political rights
Freedom of expression
Civil Society Groups in Cambodia Suppressed: Report
Local and international civil society groups operating in Cambodia face government-imposed restrictions on their operations and have been significantly hindered in their work in the lead up to Sunday’s general election, according to a recent report by a U.S.-based think tank. ...
Channy Chheng
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/civil-society-groups-in-cambodia-suppressed-report/4495078.html
Disappointed in election preparations in Cambodia, house committee to meet on possible sanctions
The lawmakers were set to discuss the Cambodia Democracy Act and an amendment that could see Phnom Penh handed further sanctions over its crackdown on the opposition, civil society, and independent media. ...
Sok Khemara
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/us-congress-to-hold-final-hearing-on-possible-cambodia-sanctions/4398333.html
Rights groups, former opposition concerned by sale of independent newspaper to investor linked to PM
Human rights groups and former opposition officials have expressed concerns over the impact of the recent sale of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper to a Malaysian investor with historical ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...
At Cambodia’s last independent newspaper, top editor fired, foreign journalists quit
All but a handful of foreign journalists on staff at The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s last remaining independent daily newspaper, resigned on Wednesday. Citing differences over the meaning of “editorial independence,” they quit within days after new owners fired its editor-in-chief who refused to remove a published ...
Hul Reaksmey
https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodia-last-independent-newspaper-editor-fired-reporters-quit/4387613.html
Newspaper staff protest firing of editor as new owners cull dissenting voices
Kay Kimsong was fired on Monday after representatives of the new owner ordered senior staff to remove an article about the sale from its website, claiming factual inaccuracies. ...
Hul Reaksmey
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/newspaper-staff-protest-firing-of-editor-as-new-owners-cull-dissenting-voices/4384807.html
Phnom Penh Post sold to Malaysian investor
Saturday’s announcement by Post Media CEO Bill Clough identified the buyer of the English-language Phnom Penh Post as Sivakumar G., who was described as having an experienced journalist’s background and representing a strong investment group from Malaysia. No price was given. ...
Associated Press
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/phnom-penh-post-sold-malaysian-investor/4382678.html
As Cambodia marks press freedom day, journalists fear increasing restrictions following crackdown
As the world celebrated Press Freedom Day on Thursday, the mood among Cambodian journalists was subdued following a months-long crackdown on dissent in the media. The theme of this year’s event was “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law”, and special attention ...
UN releases memos on concerns
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday published a batch of communications held with the Cambodian government since June last year, showing that the international body has voiced its concern about a range of issues from the arrest of ...
Leonie Kijewski
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/un-releases-memos-concerns
Cambodian media under threat: report
Media outlets in Cambodia have came under increasing threat over the past year, according to a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), though the Ministry of Information, responding to a similar recent report, has insisted freedom of expression and the press is ...
Leonie Kijewski and Rinith Taing
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodian-media-under-threat-report
Press freedom ‘collapsed’ in 2017, journalist survey says
The “façade of media freedom” in the Kingdom “collapsed” last year, with journalists reporting a sharp drop in their hopes for independent press, according to the results of a new survey launched yesterday. The Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) study surveyed 75 journalists from ...
Rinith Taing
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/press-freedom-collapsed-2017-journalist-survey-says
Government unit publishes 132-page treatise on threat of ‘colour revolution’
The Council of Ministers released a no-holds-barred book about its efforts to root out a purported foreign-backed “colour revolution” in Cambodia yesterday, lashing out at superpowers like the United States for supposedly trying to cause “immeasurable catastrophe” in the country. ...
Mech Dara and Daphne Chen
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/government-unit-publishes-132-page-treatise-threat-colour-revolution
Cambodia PM berates media at correspondents' dinner
Cambodia’s long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen berated journalists on Sunday at a dinner his government hosted for correspondents and accused some of spreading fabricated stories. ...
Prak Chan Thul
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-media/cambodia-pm-berates-media-at-correspondents-dinner-idUSKBN1FA0ZB
World Democracy in Crisis, New Freedom House Report Says
The report, “Freedom in the World 2018”, released on January 16, found that 2017 was the 12th consecutive year of decline in freedom globally, with 71 of the 195 countries included in the report suffering declines, including Cambodia. ...
Freedom in the World
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/world-democracy-in-crisis-new-freedom-house-report-says/4210004.html
Analyst Kim Sok's bail request denied at Supreme Court
Outspoken government critic Kim Sok was rejected bail at the Supreme Court this morning, with the prosecutor arguing that to grant Sok early release from an 18-month prison sentence would cause “chaos” in society. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/analyst-kim-soks-bail-request-denied-supreme-court
Hun Sen lashes out at journos, analysts over comments on reform record
The prime minister lashed out at journalists and analysts today for questioning the current government’s reform record, a seeming reference to a Post article from December about a speech in which he touted his administration’s progress. ...
Ben Sokhean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-lashes-out-journos-analysts-over-comments-reform-record
Former deputy prime minister calls for protests
Former Funcinpec Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng could be facing a new court case after calling for peaceful protests against the government in a video posted to Facebook yesterday, issuing comments similar to ones that recently saw former opposition leader Sam Rainsy slapped with ...
Niem Chheng and Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/former-deputy-prime-minister-calls-protests
Cambodia is systematically squashing all forms of dissent
“THE logical approach now”, reckons Naly Pilorge of LICADHO, a Cambodian human-rights watchdog, “would be to continue attacking.” She is talking about a crackdown on all forms of political dissent launched in August by Hun Sen, who has been prime minister for 32 years and ...
The Economist
https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21732850-unions-ngos-and-environmental-activists-are-all-feeling-squeeze-cambodia-systematically
NEC body to fight bad press
Amid accusations of bias in favour of the ruling party – and following the removal of the main opposition party from the electoral field – the National Election Committee has announced the creation of a new press reaction team to “attack back at negative points”. ...
Niem Chheng and Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/nec-body-fight-bad-press
No rallies for Sokha trial, says ministry
The Ministry of Interior has said it will not allow any demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court during a hearing on Thursday to decide if the opposition CNRP will be dissolved, while the Koh Kong provincial governor’s office warned it will prevent residents from ...
Kong Meta and Andrew Nachemson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/no-rallies-sokha-trial-says-ministry
Cambodia Daily brings out online-only platform
The shuttered Cambodia Daily announced late on Tuesday night that it has “relaunched” as a noncommercial publication. On its Facebook page, the Daily announced the re-opening as “a digital only, non-commercial publication based off shore”. Several items – including an aggregated news round-up and a “Timeline ...
Leonie Kijewski and Kong Meta
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-daily-brings-out-online-only-platform
Daily founder claims liability
The founder of the now-shuttered Cambodia Daily, Bernard Krisher, has told Prime Minister Hun Sen in a letter that he will travel to the Kingdom to take on any tax liabilities of his daughter, Deputy Publisher Deborah Krisher-Steele, stemming from the paper’s dispute with the ...
Niem Chheng and Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/daily-founder-claims-liability
CNRP meetings ‘banned’ in Kampong Chhnang
Opposition members in Kampong Chhnang say they have been banned from meeting since the arrest of CNRP leader Kem Sokha on Sunday, with the provincial police chief yesterday saying he would “not allow” the party to “discuss politics”. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cnrp-meetings-banned-kampong-chhnang
More condemn shutdown of Daily
International condemnation of the government’s aggressive pursuit of a tax dispute with the Cambodia Daily continued to pour in yesterday, with the US Embassy in Phnom Penh calling the closure of the hard-hitting newspaper a “sad day for the press and for Cambodia”. ...
Ananth Baliga
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/more-condemn-shutdown-daily
Daily silenced after 24 years
After 24 years of fiercely independent journalism, the Cambodia Daily will publish their final edition today due to an “exorbitant” $6.3 million tax bill levelled at them last month – an outcome critics say threatens Cambodia’s free press ahead of next year’s crucial national election. ...
Ananth Baliga and Niem Chheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/daily-silenced-after-24-years