A Cambodian government-controlled court has sentenced two journalists to fourteen years in prison for treason after they appeared in a photograph with Cambodian soldiers near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border. The journalists, Phorn Sopheap of Battambang Post TV Online and Pheap Pheara of TSP 68 TV Online, were arrested in July 2025 and charged with “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense” under article 445 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code. Their sentence was announced on February 20 following a one-day trial held in December.
The photograph in question, taken near Ta Krabei Temple in Oddar Meanchey province, reportedly shows anti-personnel landmines in the background. The temple area was the site of clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces in July and December 2025. Thai authorities and media had published the photograph, claiming it showed Cambodian soldiers laying new landmines in violation of international law, while Cambodia denied the allegation, stating the mines were remnants from decades-old conflicts. Both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits the production, transfer, stockpiling, and use of anti-personnel mines.
In recent months, Cambodian authorities have also detained and charged at least two other journalists covering the border conflict. On August 27, Meas Sara faced charges of incitement after live-streaming interviews with displaced villagers, while on February 13, Luot Sophal of the independent Srotop Yuvakvey news was arrested and charged with incitement to commit a felony and demoralizing the armed forces after reporting on an alleged water shortage affecting Cambodian troops. These actions are part of a broader crackdown on freedom of speech since the border clashes began.
Despite this restrictive environment, the Cambodian government has sought international media attention, with Prime Minister Hun Manet granting a rare interview to Reuters shortly after Sophal’s arrest. Observers say that the best way for Cambodia to present its perspective on the border conflict would be to stop targeting journalists for reporting factual information.
