Feb 14, 2023 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA — Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia condemn in the strongest terms the shutting down of the last independent media outlet operating in Cambodia, Voice of Democracy (VOD), regarded as the voice of millions of Cambodians, by the regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen and call on the Cambodian government to respect and uphold freedom of the press, especially at this moment, with the upcoming general elections scheduled for July 2023.
According to media reports, last week VOD published a story stating that Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, had signed on behalf of his father an agreement to provide earthquake aid to Turkey, quoting a statement from government spokesperson Phay Siphan.
Hun Sen alleges that the story was false and hurt the “dignity and reputation” of the Cambodian government, as Hun Manet, who is deputy commander of the country’s military, does not have the authority to approve foreign aid. VOD has apologized for the mistake, but the Prime Minister ordered the Ministry of Information to cancel VOD’s license.
“Shutting down an independent media outlet due to a single perceived ‘mistake’ is a blatant violation of freedom of the press. This is unacceptable in any circumstance, even more so when elections are set to be held in a few months’ time. Cracking down on a media outlet like VOD at the first opportunity not only serves to silence it, but also anyone else who might consider writing anything critical of the government. How can there be free and fair elections under such a climate of fear and self-censorship?,” said Mercy Barends, Chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
The shutdown of VOD is the latest in a long series of steps that the Cambodian government has taken in recent years to suppress criticism against the government. In 2017 and 2018, two independent newspapers, The Cambodian Daily and The Phnom Penh Post, were closed and bought out, respectively, after being hit by exorbitant tax bills. The government has also used articles in the criminal code, as well as COVID-19 regulations, to prosecute journalists and social media users that question or criticize government policies.
Besides the press, the Hun Sen regime has also cracked down on its political opponents, by arbitrarily dissolving the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), in 2017 and more recently by threatening legal action and physical violence against the country’s remaining opposition parties.
“Hun Sen’s flagrant flouting of democratic principles and civil rights cannot continue to be left unanswered. ASEAN, and the global community in general, must denounce these authoritarian tactics and demand that the Cambodian government uphold freedom of the press and freedom of expression in order to create a climate conducive to a free and fair election. Until the government allows independent journalism to flourish in the country, releases all political prisoners, and allows opposition parties to express their political views without fear of reprisals, any elections held in Cambodia will be just a farce,” said Barends.
Dec 3, 2020 | DFF, Statements
We, the 57 undersigned nongovernmental organizations express our deep concern about the Cambodian government’s harassment of independent media outlets and their journalists. The government should immediately drop the the apparently politically motivated charges against the journalists listed below and unconditionally release them. It should repeal or significantly amend repressive laws that unjustifiably impede media freedom and freedom of expression, including media freedom. Finally, the government should immediately reverse the revocations of licenses of independent media outlets listedbelow and refrain from similarly revoking licenses in the future.The Cambodian government is currently holding two journalists in pre-trial detention on politically motivated incitement or defamation charges: Sok Oudom and Ros Sokhet. A third journalist, Rath Rott Mony, is presently serving a two-year prison sentence on a similarly fabricated charge.1. On June 25, 2020, the Phnom Penh municipal police’s Cybercrime Bureau arrested Ros Sokhet, the publisher of the Cheat Khmer (“Khmer Nation”) newspaper, based on two posts made on his Facebook page, addressing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s succession plans and Cambodia’s micro-loan debt crisis. The authorities charged Sokhet with incitement to commit a felony and sent him to pre-trial detention at Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison. The Ministry of Information, which granted Cheat Khmer a media license in April 2020, announced a review of the license in light of the court case.2. On May 13, 2020, police arrested Sok Oudom, owner of the Rithysen radio station and news website in Kampong Chhnang province, charging him with incitement to commit a felony for reporting on the same land dispute at Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Chhnang province as journalist for Sneha Cheat online news site Keo Hour, and the court charged him with the same crime. Oudom is currently held in pre-trial detention at Kampong Chnnang provincial prison. Oudom regularly reported on longstanding land disputes between local farming communities and powerful officials.3. On December 7, 2018, Thai authorities arrested Rath Rott Mony, a fixer for Russian state media outlet Russia Today (RT), upon the request of the Cambodian government that alleged Mony had committed incitement when working with RT on a documentary that featured accounts of poverty-stricken families sending their daughters to engage in child sex trafficking. On December 12, he was deported to Cambodia and sent to pre-trial detention. In June 2019, a Phnom Penh court convicted him of incitement to discriminate (article 496 of Cambodia’s penal code) and sentenced him to two years in prison. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ordered Mony’s retrial.In an especially outrageous case which exemplifies Cambodia’s relentless attack on media freedoms, on October 5, the Phnom Penh municipal court convicted journalist Sovann Rithy – director of online news outlet TVFB – of incitement and sentenced hum to an 18-month prison term. The five months and 28 days he spent in pre-trial detention were deducted, and the court suspended the remainder of the prison sentence; he was released from prison on the same day. On April 7, 2020, Phnom Penh police arrested Sovann Rithy based on allegations that he had incited chaos by quoting on his Facebook page the following words from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s speech on April 7 about the economic impact of Covid-19: “If motorbike-taxi drivers go bankrupt, sell your motorbikes for spending money. The government does not have the ability to help.” According to NGO reports, between January and May 2020, Cambodian police and judicial authorities summoned and questioned at least a dozen journalists for their reporting.Independent journalists have long been harassed by the authorities, especially when reporting critically about the government. Two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists, Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, still face fabricated espionage charges based on unsubstantiated allegations that they had conspired with a foreign government; two former Cambodia Daily journalists, Zsombor Peter and Aun Pheap face a trial in absentia based on baseless incitement charges; and a reporter for TV3, Phal Dam, faces baseless incitement charges for reporting on land related issues.At least nine other cases of harassment against journalists have been recorded since 2019, including cases against Keo Hour, a journalist for Sneha Cheat online news site, who the authorities released on bail without dropping the incitement charges; Hun Sokha, president of the Club of Independent Journalists; Keo Ratana, publisher of TN Online; Prak Sovann, Rasmei Kampuchea Daily journalist; and Sath Chanbuth, journalist for Rasmei Kampuchea Daily and Apsara TV.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, the government has revoked four licenses of independent media outlets: online news site CKV TV Online, Rithysen radio station and online news site, and TVFB news site. In April, the Ministry of Information revoked CKV TV Online’s license, alleging it was in “severe violation of journalism that affects public order.” Similarly, the Ministry of Information revoked Rithysen radio station’s license alongside its separate news website’s licenses based on unsubstantiated allegations that the radio station was “publishing information which is exaggerated information, contains incitement to violence, provocation to commit discrimination and provocation to cause social insecurity and chaos.” Further, the Ministry of Information revoked TVFB’s broadcasting license on grounds that owner Sovann Rithy published information which “was to generate an adverse effect on the security, public order and safety of society.”
The Cambodian government has mounted a broad attack on press freedom and freedom of expression since mid-2017. The government forced the closure of the Cambodia Daily, one of Cambodia’s most respected independent English language daily newspapers. Another longstanding independent outlet, the Phnom Penh Post was forcibly sold in May 2018 to a businessman with ties to the Prime Minister and has since editorially mirrored government positions. In August 2017, the Cambodian authorities ordered the closure of 32 FM radio frequencies across 20 provinces, targeting stations that relayed Khmer language news broadcasts by RFA, Voice of America (VOA), and Voice of Democracy. RFA closed its office in Phnom Penh in September 2017 after 20 years of operations in Cambodia, citing threats to its staff. A few days after RFA’s office closure, the Interior Ministry threatened journalists who had worked for RFA with legal action if they continued reporting for RFA.
In the past years, the Cambodian government adopted a series of repressive laws that have enabled a crackdown on independent media and social media and resorted to provisions in the penal code – in particular articles 494 and 495 – to silence critical reporting and its reporters.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the Cambodian government adopted a highly repressive Law on the Management of the Nation in State of Emergency that provides Prime Minister Hun Sen with unfettered, undefined and overbroad powers to monitor private communications and an unlimited restriction of reporting by all media outlets. We also understand the Cambodian government has drafted a National Internet Gateway Sub-Decree, yet to be adopted, which would severely impact freedom of expression and information online, facilitate blanket surveillance of all online communications and would allow the blocking of certain types of content by the authorities if deemed to “affect safety, national revenue, social order, dignity, culture, traditions and customs.”
Cambodia acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1992, and is obligated to respect and protect the right to freedom of opinion and expression without interference, and the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Any restrictions to these rights must be justified through a strict test of legality, necessity and proportionality with respect to a legitimate aim. None of these above-mentioned cases against journalists and their publications meet these principles: they do not assert or advance a legitimate aim and could not be necessary towards such any such aim, and therefor violate international human rights law and Cambodia’s legal obligations. The UN Human Rights Committee has called on Cambodia to “[r]efrain from prosecuting journalists […] as a means of deterring or discouraging them from freely expressing their opinions”
We call on the Cambodian government to drop the charges and unconditionally release all journalists jailed for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, end harassment of journalists and media outlets, repeal or significantly amend repressive laws so as to allow for a vibrant and free media landscape in line with its international human rights obligations, and reverse revocations of media licenses to facilitate media freedom and the right to freedom of expression and information.
This statement was endorsed by:
1. 197 land community, Chikhor Leur commune, Koh Kong province
2. Adil Soz – International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech
3. Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT)
4. Amnesty International
5. Article 19
6. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
7. Asian Democracy Network (ADN)
8. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
9. Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
10. Beong Tunle Mrech Community, Preah Vihear province
11. Boeung Bram Community, Battambang province
12. Boeung Chhouk Community, Phnom Penh
13. Boeung Trabek Community, Phnom Penh
14. Borei Keila Community, Phnom Penh
15. Bu Sra community, Mondulkiri province
16. Building Community Voices (BCV)
17. Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU)
18. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
19. Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
20. Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
21. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
22. Cambodian Institute for Democracy (CID)
23. Cambodian Journalists Alliance (CamboJA)
24. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
25. Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
26. Chikhor Krom Land Community
27. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
28. Civil Rights Defenders
29. Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
30. Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL)
31. Equitable Cambodia (EC)
32. Former Boeung Kak Women Network Community, Phnom Penh
33. Human Rights Watch
34. Informal Democratic Economy Association (IDEA)
35. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
36. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
37. International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific
38. International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)
39. International Press Institute (IPI)
40. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
41. Lor Peang Community, Kampong Chhnang Province
42. Natural Resources Protection Community in Krakor district, Pursat province
43. Pailin Land Community
44. Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
45. PEN International
46. Phnom Bat Community
47. Phnom Kram Community, Siem Reap province
48. Phum 23 Community
49. Prey Peay Community, Kampot province
50. Prome Indigenous Community, Preah Vihear province
51. Railway Station, Toul Sangkae A community
52. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
53. SOS International Airport Community
54. Thma Da commune, Pursat province
55. Toul Sangkae B Community
56. Trapeang Sangkae Community, Kampot province
57. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
We, the undersigned civil society organisations (CSOs) and individuals, are alarmed by actions taken by the Malaysian government following the release of a documentary on 3 July by Al Jazeera that reported on Malaysia’s treatment of undocumented migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Government ministers, heads of government agencies and the police have come out strongly against “Locked Up In Malaysia’s Lockdown“, with investigations being opened under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act, Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act. Besides that, the Immigration Department has since threatened to revoke the passes of foreign nationals who make “inaccurate statements” and which are “aimed at damaging Malaysia’s image”.
It is deeply concerning that the immediate reaction by the authorities upon screening of the documentary was to initiate police investigation against Al Jazeera on their alleged unfavourable reporting, rather than adopting measures aimed at providing the public with an explanation or calling for an internal investigation into potential mismanagement of power or accountability. A credible action by the government when such news is released is to hold a press conference and provide a legitimate and reasonable counter or explanation in order to avoid being seen as benefiting from the whole government machinery for political ends.
We are seeing a spike in hate speech and threats of violence and harassment against foreign workers, exacerbated further after one interviewee in the Al Jazeera documentary was outed on social media for comments he made in the documentary. His personal information, such as his purported phone number and Facebook account, has gone viral online, with a litany of hate comments and derogatory language directed at him. To make matters worse, the Immigration Department yesterday released the individual’s name, passport number and last known address. We fear that this could turn into a witch hunt and place not just this individual but other migrant workers in fear of their security and possible harm.
The government should not be complicit in human rights abuses against migrant workers, such as doxxing and threats, by promoting hatred or discrimination in their messaging. We worry that statements by Malaysian officials in recent days could further heighten tensions and incite violence and discrimination against migrants, specifically undocumented workers in the country, besides completely undermining the need for critical media reporting and exercise of freedom of expression.
We stand in solidarity with Al Jazeera and strongly condemn efforts by the State to intimidate and threaten media freedom and independence in Malaysia, instances of which have been systematic and heightened since the change of government this year and includes investigations and charges using various laws levied against journalist Tashny Sukumaran, former radio deejay Patrick Teoh and CodeBlue Editor-In-Chief Boo Su-Lyn, among others. We remind the State and its leaders that media freedom and freedom of expression and speech underpins the fundamental right to seek and exchange ideas, opinions and information that would enable the public to form their own opinions and allow for dissenting or alternative positions, specifically on issues of public interest. This would, ultimately, aid in the promotion of good governance and in holding the State and its officials to higher account, which is, no doubt, what is expected of a democratic State.
We call on the Perikatan Nasional government to end and refrain from the continued use of intimidating measures to threaten and punish the media and silence critical voices. To this end, we urge the government to:
- Drop all investigations against Al Jazeera and their sources or interviewees;
- Initiate an independent inquiry into possible mismanagement or abuse of power by State apparatus and officials in the handling of the raids targeted at migrant workers;
- Stop all forms of intimidation and threats against foreigners, specifically migrant workers, from exercising their rights and voicing out their opinions;
- Prevent incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against migrant workers and other foreigners through government rhetorics or messaging;
- Ensure doxxing, threats and other human rights abuses, both online and offline, against migrants, including undocumented migrant workers, are investigated and perpetrators held accountable, and;
- Move ahead with the establishment of the Malaysian Media Council as a transparent and independent self-regulatory body for the industry, and to avoid the government from becoming the sole arbiter of truth and deciding what information is true and what is not.
It is more paramount for the current regime to create an enabling environment that would support free media and focus on sustaining the credibility of the State in the eyes of the public; rather than reinforce the increasing measures to silence dissent or opinions that places the ruling regime in an unfavourable light.
8 July 2020
Issued by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia
Endorsed by the following CSOs:
1. Agora Society
2. Aliran
3. Amnesty International Malaysia
4. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
5. Beyond Borders Malaysia
6. EMPOWER Malaysia7. Freedom Film Network (FFN)
8. Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm)
9. Gerakan Pembebasan Akademik (GPA)
10. Justice for Sisters
11. KRYSS Network
12. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Youth Section
13. LCw Productions & Newsgroups
14. Malaysian Action for Justice and Unity (MAJU) Foundation15. North-South Initiative (NSI)16. ODRI Intersectional rights17. Our Journey18. Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
19. Persatuan Penduduk Galing Besar Kuantan
20. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS)
21. Pertubuhan Solidariti Hijau Kuantan
22. PLUHO, People Like Us Hang Out
23. Projek Wawasan Rakyat (POWR)24. Ruang Kongsi25. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM)
26. Sisters in Islam (SIS)
27. Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM)
28. Student Unity Front UKM29. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)30. Success Capital Organisation
31. Tenaganita32. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0)33. To Earth With Love34. UTM-MJIIT Voices35. Women Against Rape, Antigua and Barbuda
Endorsed by the following individuals:
1. Alda M. Facio2. Andi Suraidah Bandy
3. Andrew Khoo
4. Carlson Chew
5. Dian Abdullah
6. Dumiso Gatsha
7. Joseph Hamzah Anwar
8. Gan Yu Lin
9. Ho Yock Lin10. Low Chia Ming11. Marisa Paredes
12. Nathaniel Tan
13. S. Arutchelvan
14. Siah Kwong Liang
15. Tan Cheng Siong
16. William Nicholas Gomes
17. Yu Ren Chung
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
PHNOM PENH – We, the undersigned media institutions and local and international civil society organizations call for charges against two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists, Mr. Uon Chhin and Mr. Yeang Sothearin (known as Yeang Sochea Meta), to be dropped. We also call on the government to take immediate action to cease the harassment, arbitrary detention, threat and intimidation of, as well as discrimination against, the independent media.
The two former RFA journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, were charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court with supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence, under Article 445 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code and with the alleged production of pornography under Article 39 of the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. The pair were arrested on 14 November 2017 and held in pre-trial detention for nine months. They were released on bail and placed under judicial supervision on 21 August 2018.
On 3 October 2019, the Court announced its decision to continue its investigation, despite the fact that there is a lack of credible evidence against the pair required to hold them criminally liable as per the burden of proof standards enshrined in Article 38 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Throughout the case of Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, the pair’s fair trial rights have not been upheld in line with national and international law.
We hope that the Appeal Court’s hearing on 23 December 2019, on the charges of production of pornography, as well as the hearing on 20 January 2020 on the charges of supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence, will provide justice for the pair and the baseless charges will be dropped. It should be noted that according to the summons the facts of the case are going to be heard for the first time in the Appeal Court, constituting a significant and concerning procedural irregularity. The case against Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin is one of many in which criminal charges have been used to silence independent and critical voices.
We also call for all charges against Mr. Aun Pheap, and Mr. Peter Zsombor, former Cambodia Daily journalists, to be dropped. On 28 August 2017, after conducting interviews with villagers regarding the commune council elections in Pate Commune, O’Yadav District, Ratanakiri Province, both were charged with incitement to commit a felony under Articles 494 and 495 of the Cambodian Criminal Code, and summoned to appear at a trial hearing on 25 December 2019. The interviews were conducted in their capacity as journalists for the Cambodia Daily, which has since been forced to close due to a tax requirement. The prosecutions serve to further threaten and intimidate other independent journalists.
On 19 November 2019 the Mondulkiri Provincial Court of First Instance summonsed Mr. Sath Chanboth, a journalist for Rasmei Kampuchea and Apsara TV, to appear in court on 2 December 2019, where he was questioned under charges of public defamation and incitement to commit a felony. The summons follows a lawsuit filed by Lieutenant Colonel Sophat Serivuthy, a soldier commander in Mondulkiri. We call for the judicial harassment of Sath Chanboth to be ceased.
In addition to the above cases, we express our concern over the prosecution of Mr. Rath Rott Mony, a translator for Russia Today, and former trade union leader, whose case further threatens the free media. He was accused of incitement to discriminate, and later sentenced to two years imprisonment and ordered to pay 70 million riels ($17,200) in compensation to plaintiffs for his role in supporting foreign journalists to produce a documentary on sex trafficking in Cambodia. His sentence was upheld
in November 2019 by the Court of Appeal at a hearing where none of the plaintiffs or concerned parties were present, undermining the legitimacy of proceedings.
The harassment of journalists also takes other forms. A number of independent journalists have been denied the identification cards necessary to conduct their work. Additionally, some journalists report harassment from their employers for attempting to respect the principle of independence of the media.
We notice that a number of positive steps have been taken by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) recently such as the grant of licence to the Voice of America’s bureau in Cambodia, allowing it to buy airtime from two local radio stations to broadcast its daily news programs, a meeting between Information Minister and RFA’s representative, as well as the decision to provide a licence to The Cambodian Journalists Alliance (CamboJA) on 09 September 2019, an independent journalists network. Despite these steps, journalists still face numerous barriers to conducting their work professionally and exercising their right to freedom of expression.
May Titthara, Executive Director of CamboJA, states that “to restore a better space for media, complaints against journalists and intimidations against journalists must be immediately ceased. The prosecution of Yeang Sothearin, Uon Chhin, Aun Pheap and recent criminal complaints against journalists must be dropped. Radio licenses which have been revoked should be renewed.”
Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), adds: “Cases such as these form a pattern of arbitrary and retaliatory prosecutions of critical voices, including those of human rights defenders, journalists, union leaders, community representatives and the political opposition. We emphasise that journalism is not a crime and should not be treated as such. Respecting the right to freedom of expression and ensuring a space in which journalists can conduct their work freely and safely without fear of reprisal are important steps toward building a strong democracy and rule of law.”
We, the undersigned media institutions and local and international civil society organizations urge the RGC to accept our above requests and take concrete actions to ensure that the right to freedom of expression is respected and to create an environment in which independent media and journalists can perform their important role freely.
– END –
This joint statement is endorsed by:
- Cambodian Journalists Alliance (CamboJA)
- Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
- Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
- Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- Minority Rights Organization (MIRO)
- Ponlok Khmer (PKH)
- Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP)
- Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA) Cambodia
- Community Legal Education Center (CLEC)
- Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association (KKKHRDA)
- Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
- Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)
- Cambodian Tourism Workers Union Federation (CTWUF)
- Equitable Cambodia (EC)
- Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
- Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
- Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)
- Article 19
- FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Building Community Voices (BCV)
- Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL)
- Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT)
- International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA)
- Amnesty International (AI)
- Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS)
- Cambodian Independent Civil-Servants Association (CICA)
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
For more information, please contact:
Mr. May Titthara, Executive Director of CamboJA Tel: +855 17 500 503 or email: titthara.may@camboja.net Ms. Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of CCHR, Tel: +855 11 943 213 or email: chaksopheap@cchrcambodia.org
Nov 9, 2020 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Southeast Asian lawmakers today called for all charges to be dropped against Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and executive editor of the news site Rappler, who was arrested yesterday on cyber libel charge carrying up to 12 years’ imprisonment.
“These flimsy charges are clearly politically motivated. Maria Ressa’s arrest is the latest in a long line of attacks on independent media in the Philippines, which is reeling from sustained harassment under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. It shows the extent to which the Philippine government is willing to go in its bid to silence critics within the media. All charges against Maria Ressa must be dropped immediately,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian parliament, echoing calls from amongst the Philippine media community.
On 13 February, at about 5pm, Maria Ressa was arrested by officers from the National Bureau of Investigation for allegedly committing libel under Section 4(C)(4) of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act – a law that has previously been criticized by human rights organizations as a serious threat to freedom of expression. She was released on bail today.
The case stems from a 2012 article published by Rappler, claiming links between a businessman and the then-chief justice Renato Corona. The story was published four months before the Cybercrime Prevention Act was enacted, raising questions of the law’s retroactive application and its implications.
Rappler has repeatedly been a target of harassment and intimidation for its critical coverage of President Duterte’s brutal so-called ‘war on drugs’. In November 2018, the Department of Justice filed tax evasion charges against the news outlet and Maria Ressa, threatening to shut down the company and place its CEO in prison.
“This latest charge is part of ongoing judicial harassment against Rappler and its staff. The Philippine government must stop abusing laws in an attempt to intimidate journalists who are merely doing their jobs,” said Charles Santiago.
In spite of these attempts, APHR noted the robust and commendable response from the wider Philippine press and journalist community, many of which came out quickly in solidarity with Maria Ressa, denouncing her arrest as politically motivated and calling for her release.
The Philippines remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to work in. The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented a total of 40 unsolved murders of media workers in the country since 2008.
The charges against Rappler and Maria Ressa reflect a wider regional pattern, as media across Southeast Asia is increasingly under attack. In September 2018, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment on outdated national security laws, ostensibly for their role in investigating a massacre of Rohingya in Myanmar, while press freedom in Cambodia has all but collapsed after the government’s unprecedented clampdown on dissent and opposition.
“Freedom of information is crucial in any functioning democracy and safeguards a citizen’s ability to make an informed choice about their own future. Governments need to recognize the vital role independent media outlets play and take all necessary steps to ensure a safe environment for journalists to work without undue interference,” concluded Charles Santiago.
