Cambodian journalist freed on bail after apology over posts

Mech Dara is known for his coverage of online scam centers.

By RFA Staff
2024.10.24

 

Cambodian freelance journalist Mech Dara, who was released on bail waves from a car in front of the main provincial prison of Kendal Province, southern Phnom Penh, Oct. 24, 2024.
AP Photo/Heng Sinith

Award-winning Cambodian journalist Mech Dara, who was charged with incitement to provoke disorder over his social media posts, was released on bail on Thursday, media reported.

The case against Mech Dara, known for his hard-hitting reporting on cyber-scam compounds and human trafficking, drew significant condemnation from human rights groups and foreign governments.

The CamboJA News media outlet said a court in Kandal province near the capital, Phnom Penh, released Mech Dara on bail and it published pictures of him being driven away in a vehicle. Other details of his legal status were not immediately clear.

Mech Dara was arrested on Sept. 30 and charged a day later with “incitement to provoke serious social disorder” under articles 494 and 495 of the criminal code, facing up to two years of prison.

On Wednesday, a media outlet friendly to the government published a video of Mech Dara apologizing for his social media posts and asking for forgiveness after he was brought to court for five hours of questioning.

The outlet, Fresh News, also posted photos of three handwritten, thumb-printed pages – letters it said Mech Dara wrote to Senate President Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet.

The letter to Hun Sen outlined the contents of five posts in which Mech Dara purportedly mocked progress and development in Cambodia; compared how the perpetrators of traffic accidents were treated in Australia as opposed to Cambodia; and said that a quarry operation had destroyed stairs to a popular tourist destination called Ba Phnom.

He wrote that his posts were “fake news affecting the social order and the government leadership.”

In his letter to the prime minister, Mech Dara wrote that he “regrets and admits the mistakes and promises to stop posting any content that may affect the society and damage the reputation of Cambodia. I request your leniency and amnesty.”

Cambodia has seen a significant erosion of media freedom in recent years, with journalists regularly facing harassment and independent news outlets increasingly shuttered by fiat or pressure.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, visited Cambodia and announced more than US$50 million in funding for demining programs, tuberculosis treatment, and a range of programs for the environment, media, civil society and more.  

At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Power told journalists the U.S. government was following Mech Dara’s case “very closely” and said she had raised it and other cases during talks with Hun Manet.  

“We have emphasized our support for finding positive resolutions,” she said.

Edited by Mike Firn