On 3 February 2026, journalist Hem Vanna was arrested by the Banteay Meanchey military police in western Cambodia after being summoned to the police station. He has been formally charged under the Criminal Code with “incitement to commit a crime” under Article 495 and “interception or recording of private conversations” under Article 301, two offences for which he faces up to three years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of six million riels (approximately 1,300 EUR).

On 30 January, the journalist produced a video report on violence committed against a group of Chinese nationals who were allegedly victims of human trafficking in a scam centre, a compound where criminal groups concentrate criminal activity from cyber operations to drug trafficking. The report indicated that the compound, one of several scam centres proliferating in north-western Cambodia, was located approximately one hundred metres behind the military police premises and emphasised that the authorities were unaware of the centre’s existence.

“Journalist Hem Vanna simply did his job by exposing acts of violence and the existence of a cyber-scam compound. His reporting is clearly in the public interest, and it is shocking that the authorities are trying to silence him. We call on the prosecutors to drop all charges and release him immediately and, more broadly, we urge the Cambodian authorities to stop their repression of journalists covering human rights violations.

Journalists investigating human rights violations in Cambodia are regularly subjected to harassment, notably by the authorities. In 2024, journalist Mech Dara — known for his reporting on human rights issues — was detained for nearly a month after authorities accused him of “incitement to disturb social security”.

In just three years, Cambodia has fallen 19 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Index and now ranks 161st out of 180 countries and territories, placing it among the states where the press freedom situation is considered “very serious.