Cambodia Jails Journalists 14 Years Over Border War Photo
A Cambodian appeals court has upheld 14-year prison sentences handed to two journalists convicted of treason for posting a photograph taken in a military-restricted zone during the deadly Cambodia-Thailand border conflict, deepening concerns over press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation.
Pheap Phara, a reporter with TSP 68 TV Online, and Phorn Sopheap, a journalist with Battambang Post TV Online, were both arrested on July 31, 2025, following their coverage of the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute. According to the Cambodian rights group LICADHO, the charges against the journalists were linked to Facebook posts made while covering the clashes, with the court accusing them of gathering information and photographing a prohibited military zone near a battlefield.
The photograph at the centre of the case was reportedly taken near Ta Krabei Temple in Oddar Meanchey province and showed anti-personnel landmines in the background. Thai authorities and media had circulated the image, claiming it showed Cambodian soldiers laying new landmines in violation of international law, an allegation Cambodia denied.
Both journalists were convicted in a one-day trial on December 17, 2025, under Section 445 of Cambodia’s criminal code, an anti-state provision carrying a maximum 15-year prison sentence for supplying a foreign state with information deemed prejudicial to national defence.
The Battambang province appeal court later upheld the convictions following the journalists’ challenge, according to rights group LICADHO.
The wife of one of the convicted journalists, Om Sarath, insisted her husband had no intention of compromising national security.
“It’s unfair to my husband, as he just took gifts to distribute to the front-line soldiers and took a photo with them as a souvenir without knowing that there was a land mine in the background,” she said.
Cambodia’s Information Ministry spokesman, Tep Asnarith, described the case as a warning to the media.
“This case is a lesson for journalists to carefully think about publishing news and the protection of national security, and to uphold national interests,” he said in a statement.
“Freedom of the press must go hand in hand with responsibility before the law and the national interest,” he added.
Rights groups have strongly condemned the ruling, describing it as another sign of Cambodia’s shrinking media space.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Cambodian authorities “must stop using vague national security laws to criminalise legitimate reporting,” while its senior Southeast Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, said “equating news reporting with treason is farcical.”
LICADHO’s operations director, Am Sam Ath, also warned that the convictions could have a chilling effect on journalism in Cambodia, saying they would “make journalists worry about their safety.”
The case has also drawn wider attention because Cambodian authorities have reportedly detained at least two other journalists in connection with coverage of the border conflict.
They include Meas Sara, who was charged with incitement after live-streaming interviews with displaced villagers, and Luot Sophal, who was arrested after reporting on an alleged water shortage facing frontline Cambodian soldiers.
Cambodia ranked 161st out of 180 countries on the 2025 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, placing it among countries where press freedom is considered to be in a very serious state.
The latest ruling is expected to intensify international scrutiny of Cambodia’s use of national security laws against journalists and critics, particularly as rights groups warn that routine reporting is increasingly being treated as a criminal offence.