Over 30 Arrested Since July for Border Clash Comments

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More than 30 people, including opposition members, activists and journalists, were arrested between July 2025 and February this year after posting comments on social media about Cambodia’s border clashes with Thailand, which erupted in July and again in December before a ceasefire.

Most were charged with incitement under Cambodia’s Criminal Code. Others were accused of treason or providing information to a foreign state. In a report shared with CamboJA News, local rights group Licadho documented 32 cases: 18 involving members of the opposition Candlelight Party and Nation Power Party, along with five journalists and nine others.

Human Rights Watch separately recorded at least 16 arrests a month after the July ceasefire, calling them arbitrary and “a sign of disregard for free expression and media freedom.”

The arrests come as border tensions with Thailand linger and rights groups continue to criticize the Cambodian government for prosecuting its critics and political use of incitement charges.

Nation Power Party advisor Rong Chhun called on the government to immediately release its members and drop the charges against them.

“Rights to freedom of expression, rights to assemble, including freedom for doing politics are shrinking,” he said.

Two party members, Vorn Van and Sar Nal, were arrested a week apart in January and charged with incitement and insulting the king after posting views about the border conflict.

Rath Sothy, a member of the Candlelight Party, which was disqualified from the 2023 national election, was also arrested on Jan. 12 under similar circumstances.

Government spokesperson Pen Bona said authorities “do not arrest individuals for expressing their opinions, unless they break the law or incite people.”

“What they said does not serve the nation,” he added, also saying that millions of Facebook accounts in Cambodia allow people to freely express their views.

The arrests have also extended to school teacher Nou Phearum in Kandal province, charged with incitement for posting several Facebook videos critical of the government’s handling of the border dispute. Like others, he faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

“It is a serious issue because he only shared his opinion and was arrested. It is very unfair,” his wife Hem Sam Oun said.

Kandal provincial police chief Chhoeun Sochet declined to comment.

Of the five local journalists arrested after covering the border conflict, three remain in pretrial detention and two were released on bail, according to operations director at Licadho Am Sam Ath. Only one of the 18 opposition members has been released on bail.

Other journalists have also faced detention recently after reporting on a nationwide sweep of scam centers, which civil groups quickly called to release.

Ny Sokha, president of civil society group Adhoc, urged the government, particularly the courts, to release those detained for expressing opinions on border and territorial issues.

“I believe that in a democratic society, citizens should have broad freedom of expression, especially regarding the challenges Cambodia is currently facing, such as border disputes and alleged encroachment by Thailand,” he said.

Cambodia last year ranked among the world’s lowest-performing countries in a global rule of law index and scored 161 out of 181 countries in the 2025 press freedom index. The government often criticizes critical reports from international rights groups as biased.

Licadho lists 96 “Prisoners of Interest” in Cambodia who it says are currently detained for activism or expressing their views.

(Additional reporting by Sok Sreymey)