Award-winning Cambodian journalist arrested
October 1, 20242 Mins Read
International Desk: A well-known and award-winning Cambodian journalist has been arrested for reporting on human trafficking in the cyber fraud industry.

AFF reported this news from Phnom Penh on Tuesday, citing the police.

Journalist Mech Dara was honored by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with the 'Hero Award' last year in recognition of his contribution by publishing an investigative report against human trafficking exploitation in Cambodia's online fraud industry.

The Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (Cambodia) said in a statement that it stopped a vehicle carrying Dara and his family on Monday in the coastal city of Sihanoukville. This suburban town has seen many raids against suspected fraud.

Military police spokeswoman Eng Hai confirmed the arrest, but declined to say where Dara was being held or what court he would be sent to.

"We have issued a warrant against him from a prosecutor," he told AFP. Therefore, we cannot comment on the complaint at this time. First we have to wait for the investigation.

Various international news outlets have published reports on Dara's human trafficking. Just before the military police seized his phone, he sent a message to the human rights NGO Likadho about his arrest.

"We knew about his arrest but we don't know where he was taken or why he was arrested," Likadho's operations director Am Sam told AFP.

Cambodia said a day before his arrest, he posted a photo on his social media platform showing a tourist resort being demolished to make way for a mine.

Local authorities have branded the now-deleted images 'fake news' and called on Dara to face punishment for their publication.

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Dara previously worked for the independent media outlet Voice of Democracy. Cambodian authorities shut it down in February last year.