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Shift Media News 
By Our Reporter
CAMBODIA, [SHIFTMEDIA] Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the violent arrests of two teams of reporters who were covering a huge deforestation operation in southern Cambodia.
RSF also called upon the Cambodian government to guarantee journalistic freedom and released the activists.
“The representatives of the security forces employed clearly thuggish methods with the https://Voice of Democracy News VOD and Khmer Thavrak reporting teams,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.
“We call Prime Minister Hun Sen’s office to order tough punishments for the officers who carried out the arrests of the nine reporters. Respect for the rule of law in Cambodia is at stake.”
Five journalists from independent news outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) and four citizen-journalists from social justice group Khmer Thavrak were unjustly detained for about seven hours on 16 August 2022. They were arrested in Phnom Tamao forest on Tuesday morning by BHQ officers and then brought to the Bati district police station in Takeo province.
Abuse of power
Authorities told VOD journalists they were not permitted to photograph, film or fly a drone in Phnom Tamao, claiming photos and recordings could be used to spread false information. There is no justification for such a claim and such arbitrary restrictions on journalists.
The 40 signatory organizations, including RSF, also condemn the authorities’ unconscionable abuse of power and use of physical violence against a journalist and an activist, and call for an impartial investigation into the incident, prosecution of any authorities who acted in violation of the law, and justice for the victims.
A VOD videographer was slapped in the face by a BHQ officer when the journalist refused to hand over the phone he was using to record officers questioning his VOD colleagues.
“I was walking to the pagoda [in Phnom Tamao forest] and was told that VOD reporters were detained. I returned to them and took out my phone intending to film them for documentation. One bodyguard came up to me, told me not to film and wanted to take my phone from me, but I refused. He slapped me in the face and snatched the phone from my hand,” said Hy Chhay, the videographer.
Khmer Thavrak activist Hun Vannak was also hit repeatedly by a BHQ officer while being pushed into the back of a truck during his arrest.
“I refused to get into the [vehicle] and he punched me in the face three times and jumped to kick my head,” Vannak said after his release.
RSF has learned that the VOD journalists arrested along with Hy Chhay were reporters Mam Moniroth and Kiet Surith Theavy, photojournalist Hean Rangsey, and Danielle Keeton-Olsen, who is a US citizen.
While authorities claimed on 16 August that the nine had entered a prohibited area in Phnom Tamao forest —which earlier this month saw approximately a quarter of its territory cleared of trees — journalists and others in recent weeks were freely able to report on, photograph and film the deforestation, replanting and other developments in the forest. These restrictions were sudden, arbitrary and infringed on press freedom.
Coercion, harassment and intimidation
In addition, the five journalists and four Khmer Thavrak activists, including Vannak, Sokun Tola, Chhem Sreykea and Chhoeun Daravy, were only released from detention on Tuesday evening after authorities required them to sign a “contract”. The contract stated that the journalists flew a drone without permission from authorities, despite no known existing regulations on using drones in that area. The 40 signatory organizations view this as coercion, harassment and intimidation.
Independent journalists’ right to report news freely in Cambodia must be protected, especially when reporting on matters of the public interest such as the recent massive deforestation of Phnom Tamao forest.
Cambodia’s 1995 Press Law prohibits pre-publication censorship like what was exhibited on 16 August, when authorities told journalists they were not allowed to photograph or film in the forest without prior approval, and when officers confiscated their equipment, including phones, cameras and a drone equipped with a camera.
Similarly, individuals and activists have the right to freely document and monitor environmental destruction and rights abuses, and to express their opinions publicly, a right protected by Cambodia’s Constitution and international human rights law.
Background
The violence and detentions of five VOD journalists and four activists from Khmer Thavrak on 16 August 2022 came just days after the Phnom Tamao forest underwent massive deforestation, losing around 500 hectares of forest at the roughly 2,000-hectare site in about one week. Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the forest to be replanted on 7 August, cancelling concessions given by his government to several businessmen, including Leng Navatra and Khun Sea.
The reversal came after a series of VOD articles featuring photos and drone footage of the rapid deforestation, other news articles and drone footage of the clearing, and public outrage on social media over the forest’s destruction.
The five VOD journalists detained on Tuesday were following up on their earlier reporting on the forest clearing, including conducting interviews and photographing and filming using a drone.
SOURCE/Reporters Without Borders
