In a rejection of a provincial leader’s push for hardline monitoring of journalists, the head of the Ministry of Information this week denounced the arbitrary detention of two reporters and urged authorities to more closely cooperate with media workers.
Some 1,061 cases of “fake news” have been identified by the Information Ministry this year, according to a ministry report — 910 of them for inciting criticism of the government or insulting the country’s leaders.
A reporter has been arrested in Battambang over alleged incitement related to his Facebook activity, according to military police.
News publisher Los Seng, of Los Seng News, says he is under pressure over covering land disputes related to Phnom Penh’s new international airport in Kandal province, warned to stop his reporting and told that a case against him was headed to court.
Journalists broadcasting from red zones, following ambulances or making misleading conclusions “without clear background” will face legal action, the Information Ministry said on Tuesday, as a spokesperson explained that the measures were needed as some had made reports without first verifying with relevant parties.
The Information Ministry has issued a letter saying it should be notified before all journalism trainings, with a spokesperson saying it can help find trainers and speakers from various government institutions.
A Phnom Penh police order instructing officers to prevent journalists from filming and interfering with police work comes as fewer reporters have attended protests, court trials and other politically sensitive events.
The Ratanakiri Provincial Court’s written decision dropping the case against Cambodia Daily journalists Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter, issued on Thursday, gives state prosecutors three months to object.
The Ratanakiri Provincial Court on Tuesday dropped the incitement charges leveled against two former reporters for the Cambodia Daily as the plaintiff in the case withdrew his complaint three years after bringing them to the court.
The trial of former Cambodia Daily journalists Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter, charged three years ago as the newspaper shut down amid a government crackdown, has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Ratanakiri Provincial Court.
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