UPDATE (8:50 a.m): Dara’s lawyer, Duch Piseth, confirmed this morning that he will submit another bail request for Dara today following Dara’s public apology last night, after the court denied the initial request last week.
He told CamboJA News that he also hopes that Dara will be released on bail soon, however, he could not comment on whether the charge would be dropped, since he is still waiting for the court proceeding.
Mech Dara released a video apologizing to Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet for his alleged mistake in posting “fake news”. The apology came after he was taken to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a second questioning by the judge on the afternoon of October 23 amid USAID head Samantha Power’s visit to Cambodia.
In the apology letter, Dara admitted to posting “fake news five times”. He also asked for his case to be dropped.
“I am sorry and aware of my mistakes and I promise to Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet that I will stop posting any information that is harmful to the country,” he said. “I would like to ask for your forgiveness and to drop the charges.”
The apology video was released by local media Fresh News at 8.41 p.m, following six hours of questioning by the judge from 2 p.m to 7 p.m.
Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist, was arrested on September 30 on incitement charges related to social media posts he made earlier that month. He was denied bail by the court last week following his request for bail due to his health condition in the prison.
At the questioning on Wednesday, Duch Piseth, Dara’s attorney, said the judge sought additional information relating to the story posted by Dara on social media. Piseth declined to provide further details.
He noted that Dara’s condition has worsened after three weeks in prison.
“When he sits for too long, he starts to lose focus and hallucinates,” Piseth said.
Following Dara’s public apology, CamboJA News tried to contact Piseth to ask whether he would be freed from prison soon or if the court dropped the charge against him, but he did not respond.
Meanwhile, the second questioning of Dara’s case took place during a visit by Samantha Power, head of USAID, to Cambodia.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday evening, she said she raised Dara’s case along with other cases during her meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet. However, she would not comment further when asked by a reporter.
“We are following the development of journalist Mech Dara very closely,” she said. “All of these cases are sensitive but I will just underscore that we have emphasized our support for finding positive resolutions.”
Dara’s sister, Mech Choulay, told CamboJA News while waiting outside the court that her family continues to call for his release due to growing concerns about his mental health in the overcrowded prison.
“In just three weeks, he has lost six to seven kilograms,” she said. “He has insomnia and the room in the prison is crowded. We are worried about his mental health,” she added. “I hope my brother will be released soon.”
Michael Dickison, Dara’s former colleague, told CamboJA News that he was also worried about Dara’s health, given that he was facing problems in a crowded cell. On Dara’s social media post, Dickison did not think it was too serious an issue to detain him in the prison.
“I think he should not be in jail. I worry about the condition in the prison as well and I hope everything is solved and he is going to be released,” he said.
Yi Soksan, a senior investigator of Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), said Dara’s social media activity was merely an exercise of his right to freedom of expression. He also pointed out that Dara’s case should have been tried under Cambodia’s press law rather than the Criminal Code.
He also warned that this case could deter other journalists from speaking out on important issues.
“Dara did not make a mistake [warranting a criminal charge] as he is a journalist and Cambodia has a press law. What the government [is] doing is a violation of the rights of journalists,” he said. “The judge should drop the charge to ensure his freedom.”
In conjunction with USAID’s Power’s visit to Cambodia this week, a Facebook page named “Free Mech Dara” created by Dara’s colleagues and fellow journalists, urged her to raise Dara’s case with the Cambodian government.
Supporters of the #FreeMechDara campaign called on Power to raise awareness on Dara’s release and for the charges against him to be dropped.
“We call on Samantha Power, head of USAID, to raise the case of imprisoned journalist and anti-trafficking hero Mech Dara during her visit to Cambodia this week,” they wrote.
Dickison also hoped that Power would discuss the case with the government so that the charges are dropped.
When a CamboJA News reporter asked Pen Bona, government spokesperson, to comment, he declined, saying that the case was in court, not the government.
Separately, Ministry of Information spokesperson Tep Asnarith said they had already issued a statement confirming their close monitoring of Dara’s case, including court proceedings, when asked to respond to the ongoing campaign for his release and the call to USAID’s Power to raise his case with the government.
Note: This story was updated at 8:50 a.m on October 24, 2024 after receiving a confirmation from Dara’s lawyer Duch Piseth that he will submit a bail request.