An online publisher and two others have been charged with three criminal charges, related to the impact on the morality of the army, including a comment to discriminate against the force. The trio have been placed in pretrial detention in Prey Sar prison.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Chhay Hong confirmed on Monday that the publisher, Hang Samang, as well as Kunh Veasna and Ros Ev, were charged with demoralizing the armed forces, incitement to discrimination, and unauthorized use of a uniform similar to police or military attire.
The publisher had posted a video on his media platform Hang Samang Post, where he apologized to leaders for his “unprofessional conduct in journalism”.
The trio were arrested in Svay Rieng province on May 30 and brought to court. The charges against them are related to a video they posted. In the video, they are seen wearing soldier’s uniforms and discussing the perceived inequality between frontline soldiers, who defend territorial sovereignty and “remain in low-ranking positions”, and soldiers stationed in the capital who “hold higher ranks”.
The clip was released amid the ongoing Cambodia-Thai border clash last week, resulting in the death of a Cambodian sergeant, with both sides blaming each other for opening fire.
Information Ministry spokesperson Tep Asnarith said journalists must not go beyond the boundary of Cambodia’s laws and their rights.
“The practice or actions beyond the law, especially the Press Law, will result in legal consequences, [whether] civil or criminal cases,” Asnarith said.
Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA) executive director Nop Vy called on journalists to adhere to the code of ethics and properly carry out their work as it acts as a shield to protect them.
“Journalists do not have special privileges [which are] above the ordinary citizen that allow us to create or fabricate stories that violate ethical journalism,” he said.
“When we violate ethics, it will erode our value as journalists, and affect other journalists,” Vy said, while urging the court to consider using the Press Law and observe the principle of fundamental freedom of expression.
