Cambodia’s media landscape remains under intense pressure, as starkly contrasting perspectives continue to emerge from the government and civil society regarding the state of press freedom in the country.
Findings from the second quarter of 2025 (April-June), highlight ongoing challenges to media freedom, the rule of law, and fundamental human rights in the country. In this period, CamboJA documented ten instances of violations against journalists and media outlets, all directly related to journalistic activities.
This marks an approximate 29% decrease in the total human rights violations compared to the previous quarter, when there were 14 instances of violations and nine incidents.
The decrease in the number of violations this quarter does not necessarily indicate an improvement in the country’s media environment. Independent journalists and media outlets continue to struggle with self-censorship and suppression and as a consequence there is a noticeable decline in reporting on sensitive issues. Moreover, only a small number of independent journalists and media outlets are able to operate under these restrictive conditions, while the majority toe the government line.
Key findings include:
- Six cases of legal safety violations were recorded, including summons, detention, pre-trial detention, and license revocation.
- One case of physical assault was reported, in which a journalist suffered minor injuries from a gunshot.
- Two cases involved threats of physical harm, where journalists were threatened with gunfire.
- One case was a denial of access, where a journalist was prohibited from entering a location to cover the news.
- Seven cases of violations were committed by state actors, ranging from provincial to national-level authorities.
The misuse of legal mechanisms to silence journalism continues to be a dominant trend in the period with reported instances of arbitrary interrogation/summons, pre-trial detention and detention as well as legal harassment in the form of license revocations. These legal safety threats account for 60% of the total violations documented in the period.
The cases documented range from instances of physical assault, threats of physical harm, legal harassment and other violations against right to freedom of expression. Notably, three of the documented cases concern journalists who have been subjected to violations, including legal threats and physical assaults, in the past. This is indicative of a worrying pattern that journalists suffer multiple forms of violations over time. Two cases documented concerned the revocation of licenses of media organisations by the Minister of Information.
The majority of affected journalists were aged between 35 and 55 and primarily worked through online media platforms. Those relying on social media platforms, especially Facebook, for reporting were identified as particularly at risk.
An analysis of the type of journalistic beats that triggered these incidents indicates that sensitive topics such as environmental issues and local politics are particularly dangerous for journalists to report on. Most of the documented violations were allegedly perpetrated by state actors, including both provincial and national-level authorities.
These violations, documented by CamboJA, not only infringed Cambodia’s constitutional protections of press and media freedom – particularly Articles 41 and 38 – but also contravened international standards under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including basic rights to freedom of expression, physical security, justice and due process and liberty.
Out of the 10 cases documented by CamboJA, only three were reportedly filed with the authorities. Of those, just two resulted in investigations, resulting in the arrest and charging of the perpetrators.
When it comes to the consequences for targeted journalists, findings from the second quarter of 2025 reveal a pattern similar to those observed in the first quarter. The impact on the personal and professional lives of journalists remain severe, encompassing restrictions on movement, psychological distress, forced deletion of information, coerced confessions of wrongdoing for publishing journalistic content, and the effective shutting down of media outlets.
This pattern of intimidation contributes to a climate of fear, leading to increased self-censorship among journalists and a chilling effect on public discourse, highlighting yet again the urgent need for systemic reforms to safeguard press freedom and ensure Cambodia fulfills its national and international obligations under human rights law.
The continued use of arbitrary legal threats and actions to intimidate journalists and suppress critical reporting highlights a concerning pattern of legal intimidation. As previously highlighted by CamboJA, authorities are resorting to criminal charges, such as incitement, against journalists covering sensitive topics, instead of utilizing the civil remedies outlined in the Cambodian Press Law. This approach runs counter to international standards that protect freedom of expression. Such censorship and restrictions on journalistic work hinder the free flow of ideas, limit public access to information, and undermine meaningful participation in public discourse.
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