Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association

British Environmental Journalist Denied Entry, Blacklisted in Cambodia

Gerald Flynn interviews community forest patrollers in Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary while investigating illegal logging in 2023. Photo courtesy of Chasing Deforestation / Mongabay.
Gerald Flynn interviews community forest patrollers in Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary while investigating illegal logging in 2023. Photo courtesy of Chasing Deforestation / Mongabay.

A British investigative journalist who has spent five years in Cambodia reporting on deforestation and other environmental issues has been banned from reentering the country.

Gerald Flynn, a staff writer for conservation news outlet Mongabay, told CamboJA News he was denied reentry to Cambodia on Jan. 5 after a short trip to Thailand.

Immigration officials flagged Flynn’s visa as “fraudulent” before his flight from Siem Reap, where he is based. Authorities let him depart but, upon his return, forced him onto a flight back to Bangkok, citing fake visa documents without identifying them and saying he was banned indefinitely from the country. They told him he had been “blacklisted” in November, he said.

“I have only ever worked as a journalist in the five years that I spent in Cambodia, I have always maintained a valid business visa, work permit and press pass,” Flynn said.

Flynn holds a one-year Type E business visa, valid through February 2025, and a work permit issued by Cambodia’s labor ministry – authorities insist it was for work as an electrician, not a journalist. His press pass expired Jan. 1, but he had applied for renewal, a process notoriously slow for journalists in the country.

In a statement, Mongabay said Flynn has “consistently held a valid government-issued press pass … in Cambodia.”

“My visa extension was handled by the same agent I’ve used for years. They’ve denied submitting an application for me to work as ‘an electrician,’ and I’ve seen no evidence from the General Department of Immigration,” said the award-winning environmental reporter.

“No one in the government has even confirmed in writing that I’m permanently banned from Cambodia.”

Po Sengleang, chief of the immigration removal center in Siem Reap, declined to comment, referring questions to top leaders.

General Department of Immigration Director Sok Veasna and spokesperson Sok Sumnea could not be reached for comment.

For Flynn, his news outlet, and press freedom groups, the ban is seen as retaliation.

Flynn’s work has exposed environmental crimes and human rights abuses in Cambodia, sometimes tied to senior government officials. His recent contribution to a France 24 documentary on deforestation in Cambodia, which the government labeled “fake news,” stands out.

The documentary, aired Nov. 22, came just days before Flynn was blacklisted. On Nov. 23, six environmental activists – two featured in the documentary – were detained in Stung Treng province while investigating an illegal logging operation Flynn had previously reported on. They were released without charge on Nov. 25, but only on the condition they never work with foreign journalists again, according to Mongabay. 

Two of the activists, along with another environmentalist, joined the ruling Cambodian People’s Party on Jan. 15 and denounced their former colleagues.

These arrests came just before the murder of a Cambodian environmental journalist, shot dead while reporting on land clearing and forest crimes. They also followed the September arrest of award-winning journalist Mech Dara, known for his extensive reporting on scam centers.

“It is very difficult to see this as anything but retaliation for my journalistic work which, over the last few years, has highlighted the role that a handful of powerful Cambodians play in the privatization and degradation of the country’s natural resources,” said Flynn.

As a Rainforest Investigations Network fellow with the Pulitzer Center, Gerald Flynn investigated illegal logging across Koh Kong province for stories published by Mongabay. Photo courtesy of Mongabay.

In a joint statement, local and international press freedom groups, including CamboJA and the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, where Flynn is president, condemned the move as an arbitrary decision emblematic of ongoing attacks on press freedom.

“Flynn should be allowed to return to the country and resume his important journalism […] The government must stop impeding journalist in the country through arbitrary arrest, intimidation and harassment,” the statement read.

National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun told CamboJA News that all foreigners banned from Cambodia are “either terrorists, spies, or criminals,” expressing frustration when asked about the public sentiment that Flynn’s ban highlights the country’s eroding press freedoms.

Kim Khoeun was adamant that he knows nothing about the case and could not provide details on why Flynn was blacklisted. He could only confirm that he was blacklisted.

Information Ministry spokesperson Phos Sovann denied claims that the ministry banned a British journalist’s reentry due to his reporting on natural resource destruction, insisting the ministry “has always supported press freedom.”

“I don’t think it relates to his reporting, although some of it hasn’t reflected the facts in Cambodia,” he claimed. “I think Flynn may have failed to fulfill other immigration duties, such as improperly using his visa.”

When reached, a spokesperson from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh said it is assisting a British citizen with clarity over his immigration status through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, but did not provide further details.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Chum Sounry and Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak could not be reached for comment.

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