October 2, 2024
BANGKOK – Investigative journalist Mech Dara was arrested by military police on September 30, 2024. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged Mech with “Incitement to disturb social security” and ordered his pre-trial detention in Kandal Provincial Prison on October 1, 2024.
Authorities in Prey Veng province issued a statement accusing Mech of causing social disorder by posting about a rock quarry on social media. One day prior to his arrest, Mech shared two images of a quarry operating at a revered mountain in the southeastern province of Prey Veng’s Ba Phnom, which also houses a Buddhist pagoda.
Mech Dara was recognized in 2023 by the U.S. State Department for his reporting on human trafficking and online scams in Cambodia. He has worked for The Cambodia Daily, The Phnom Penh Post, and Voice of Democracy radio—all of which were forced to shut down due to government pressure, according to The Independent.
“Every newsroom I work in gets silenced,” Mech told the BBC after then-Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closure of Voice of Democracy.
Mech is a member of Journalists Against Corruption (JAC), which on October 1, 2024, issued a statement expressing concern over his arrest and called for his immediate release.
Several communities, media organizations, and civil society groups have also urged Cambodian authorities to drop the charges and release the journalist immediately.