Cambodian Government’s Crackdown on the Independent Journalism

08 August 2568
Adisorn Suksomat

In 2017, then-Prime Minister Hun Sen began a war against press freedom in Cambodia. His crackdown on independent media has continued under the rule of his son, Hun Manet, who assumed power in 2023.

According to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Cambodia ranked 161 out of 180 countries. So far this year, four journalists have been imprisoned in Cambodia.

Between 1992 and 2023, 12 journalists lost their lives in Cambodia.

A 2020 report by the Cambodian Journalists Association documented 72 journalists being subjected to 35 incidents of harassment.

Crackdown on Independent Media Before the 2018 Election

In August 2017, Hun Sen’s government ordered domestic radio stations to suspend broadcasting programs from Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA).

On September 4, 2017, The Cambodia Daily, one of the country’s most prominent independent newspapers, was forced to shut down—just one day after the opposition leader was arrested on charges of treason.

In May 2018, The Phnom Penh Post, another leading independent newspaper, was sold to a Malaysian investor with close ties to Hun Sen. This sale marked the end of its editorial independence, with the outlet shifting toward a pro-government stance, paving the way for the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win the general election in July 2018.

Crackdown on Independent Media Before the 2023 Election

In February 2023, Voice of Democracy (VOD)—one of the last independent news outlets in Cambodia—was shut down by the government.

This led to the formation of Kamnotra, a news website established in response to the closure of VOD. However, it was short-lived, as the government blocked access to the site under Hun Sen’s administration.

As a result, the CPP won the July 2023 general election, allowing Hun Manet to succeed his father as prime minister.

Media in the Hands of the Hun Sen Family

The Cambodian media industry is dominated by those close to Hun Sen, such as:

Hun Mana, Hun Sen’s eldest daughter, who serves as the general director of Bayon Television. She also owns the most widely circulated Khmer-language daily newspaper, along with other outlets, including magazines and local news websites.

Apsara TV is co-owned by the Minister of Environment from the CPP, the son of a CPP secretary, and the son of a CPP deputy prime minister.

Although CPP officials deny any state control over these TV stations, Cheam Yeap, a CPP lawmaker and official spokesman, once stated:

“We pay for TV airtime to showcase our achievements.”

With traditional media under government control, Cambodians increasingly rely on mobile phones and social media for information. However, the content they access is often filtered through Facebook’s algorithms, which tend to favor pro-government narratives.

One prominent online outlet serving as a mouthpiece for the Hun Sen government is Fresh News, which played a key role in spreading disinformation during the 2025 Thai-Cambodian border crisis.

National Internet Gateway

The Cambodian government has expressed interest in establishing a National Internet Gateway to enforce centralized censorship. However, due to limited resources, full-scale censorship has not yet materialized. As long as Cambodians can still access foreign information, total suppression of dissenting opinions remains out of reach.

Legal Tools for Media Suppression

In 1992, Cambodia ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and later adopted a Press Law in 1995, which allows defamation cases to be settled by mutual consent.

In practice, however, authorities often rely on the Criminal Code’s “incitement to commit a felony” clause to prosecute and arrest investigative journalists. These arrests are often made without warrants.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hun Sen exploited the crisis to enact emergency laws granting him sweeping powers to censor content deemed threatening to the government. These laws were also used to arrest opposition supporters and critics under the pretext of spreading “fake news.”

In 2022, the Cambodian government began targeting anti-government online media as part of a campaign dubbed “Media Spreads Propaganda,” falsely labeling accurate reports as dangerous propaganda ahead of the July 2023 elections.

Since the 2017 crackdown, journalists have been jailed for months on trumped-up charges such as terrorism or the distribution of pornography.

Even reporting on environmental issues in Cambodia is risky. In December 2024, Chhoeung Chheng, a reporter covering environmental issues for Kampuchea Aphiwat News, was shot and killed—allegedly by illegal loggers in Siem Reap province.

As a result, reporting on corruption linked to the prime minister or his inner circle has become virtually impossible.

International Role in Supporting Media Freedom

An analysis by East Asia Forum, a publication that monitors developments in the Asia-Pacific, argued that:

International efforts cannot prevent Hun Sen’s suppression of the media because of China’s support. China provides assistance without requiring adherence to human rights standards, enabling Hun Sen to maintain economic stability and political control despite additional sanctions from the U.S. and its allies.

Rather than merely condemning Hun Sen’s regime, the U.S. and its allies should support civil society media in Cambodia. They should fund fact-based journalism and develop creative methods to bring truthful information into Cambodia’s information space.

Though civil society media cannot directly challenge the Hun Sen government’s power, they can counter government disinformation and propaganda on social media, helping to keep the hope for democracy alive among the Cambodian people.

Reference information :

https://rsf.org/en/country/cambodia
https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/05/02/hun-sens-fight-to-control-the-cambodian-infosphere/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_Sen#Control_of_media