PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Cambodian journalists who had worked for US-funded Radio Free Asia and are charged with espionage were released on bail Tuesday, a day after a pardon freed four land rights activists from prison.
Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who is better known by his professional name of Yeang Socheameta, were arrested last November and charged with undermining national security by supplying information to a foreign state. The two journalists were also later charged with producing pornography after police said they found pornographic images on their computers. They face possible prison terms of up to 15 years.
The pair were greeted by friends and family when they walked out of Prey Sar prison Tuesday evening.
“Frankly speaking, we are not fully receiving our freedom because we must still present ourselves upon police request,” Yeang Sothearin told journalists outside the prison. “We are continuing to urge the court to drop all charges against us so that we can do our jobs, living our lives as other people do.”
His colleague, Uon Chhin, vowed to stay in his profession. “I love my job as a journalist,” he said.
Their employer welcomed their release on bail while also calling for the charges against them to be dropped.
“The targeting and intimidation of anyone who has worked as an independent journalist in Cambodia is a clear violation of press freedom,” said Libby Liu, president of Washington, D.C.-based Radio Free Asia. “With today’s development, we hope all charges against them are dropped and their case is immediately dismissed.”
Their arrests came during Cambodia’s crackdown on the media and political opponents before last month’s general election.
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party swept the results in a vote widely seen as not fair or credible. The official voter turnout was high even though a boycott had been called by the main opposition party that was dissolved last year by a court ruling seen as biased.
Hun Sen, who has been in office since 1985 and has held a tight grip on power since ousting a co-prime minister in a bloody 1997 coup, has a record of cracking down harshly when facing a serious challenge, then effecting reconciliation when he no longer feels threatened. The pattern keeps human rights groups and Western governments off balance and moderates their criticism.
On Monday, four women jailed for participating in Cambodia’s land rights movement were freed under a royal pardon requested by Hun Sen. One of those freed, Tep Vanny, had led protests against evictions from a lakeshore community in Phnom Penh where the government had granted concessions to develop a luxury residential and commercial community.
Last September, Radio Free Asia closed its office in Cambodia after operating for 20 years, citing unprecedented government intimidation of the media. By the end of last year, the government had closed more than a dozen radio stations, some of which had rebroadcast Radio Free Asia’s programs, and the English-language The Cambodia Daily newspaper was forced to shut down.
The two reporters were no longer working for RFA after their office closed, and police initially said they had been detained for running an unlicensed karaoke studio. But they were later accused of setting up a studio for RFA and charged with espionage.
A spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Ei Rin, said it ordered the release on bail as requested by the journalists’ lawyer.
After their release, the two journalists went to a Buddhist temple to get a monk’s blessings, a rite meant to get rid of bad luck.
Their detention had been sharply criticized by rights groups and journalists’ associations.
The Committee to Protect Journalists in a statement issued Wednesday that they welcomed the journalists’ release on bail, “but they never should have been detained in the first place.”
“Authorities should drop these bogus charges and stop harassing journalists with frivolous accusations,” said Shawn Crispin, the New York-based group’s representative in Southeast Asia.
2 Cambodian reporters charged with spying released on bail
2 Cambodian reporters charged with spying released on bail
- The duo were arrested last November and charged with undermining national security by supplying information to a foreign state
- By the end of last year, the Cambodian government had closed more than a dozen radio stations
Union chiefs urge BBC staff to wear Palestinian flag colors or keffiyeh during ‘day of action’
- Protest on Thursday is a gesture of solidarity in support of demands for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, organizers say
- Some workers voice concerns that the action violates the broadcaster’s strict guidelines on impartiality and risks upsetting colleagues
LONDON: Britain’s Trades Union Congress has urged BBC staff and workers in other sectors to participate in a “workplace day of action” on Thursday by wearing the colors of the Palestinian flag or a keffiyeh.
Organizers said their call for action is intended as a gesture of solidarity and to support demands for a permanent ceasefire and end to the violence in Gaza, and the release of all hostages.
The TUC, an umbrella organization that represents 5.5 million members of 48 trade unions, suggested that employees “wear something red, green, black, or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” in their workplaces.
The National Union of Journalists informed its members of the protest last week and condemned the actions of the Israeli government, which it said have resulted in the deaths of at least 135 Palestinian journalists since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas last year.
“The NUJ is urging branches and chapels to show support on the day and amplify the union’s calls,” it said.
However, The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that the campaign has drawn criticism, particularly from Jewish staff at the BBC who raised concerns that it violates the broadcaster’s strict guidelines on impartiality and risks upsetting colleagues.
A spokesperson for the TUC emphasized the need for sensitivity while participating in the protest.
“The day of action is focused on the TUC’s call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and political prisoners,” the organization said.
“We are advising trade union members to undertake the action respectfully and to discuss with colleagues what action is best suited to their workplace.”
Lebanon state media says Israeli fire wounds 2 journalists in south
- Video journalist Abdelkader Bay, two other visual journalists was reporting in Khiam when shots
BEIRUT: Two journalists were injured by Israeli fire on Wednesday, state media said, while reporting from a border town where Israeli troops and Hezbollah fought fierce battles before a ceasefire took effect.
The truce came into force on Wednesday morning after more than two months of full-scale war, which itself followed nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of ally Hamas over the Gaza war.
Both Israel and Lebanon’s army have warned people against returning to southern areas heavily hit by war, with Israeli troops still present in some border towns and villages.
“Israeli enemy forces in the town of Khiam opened fire on a group of journalists while they were covering the return of the residents and the Israeli withdrawal from the town, wounding two,” the National News Agency said.
Video journalist Abdelkader Bay told AFP he was reporting in Khiam with two other visual journalists when shots were fired and he was injured along with his colleague.
“We saw people checking on their homes and, at the same time, we were hearing the sounds of tanks withdrawing,” Bay said, adding the other wounded journalist was hospitalized.
“While we were filming, we realized there were Israeli soldiers in a building and suddenly they shot at us,” he said.
“It was clear that we were journalists,” he added.
Photographer Ali Hachicho was with Bay in Khiam when the incident happened but was not injured. They both said they saw a drone above the town before shots were fired.
“We saw military fatigues on the ground,” Hachicho told AFP, then he spotted Israeli soldiers nearby.
“When I put the camera to my eye to film them, I started hearing the sound of bullets between our feet,” he said.
Later on Wednesday, the Israel army set limits on nighttime movement in south Lebanon.
Watchdog calls for international probe into alleged war crimes targeting journalists in Lebanon
- Committee to Protect Journalists urges actions to ‘ensure journalist murders do not go unpunished’
- Investigations found Israel ‘deliberately targeted’ compound that killed 3 journalists in southern Lebanon in October
LONDON: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for an international investigation into “possible war crimes” after separate investigations by The Guardian and Human Rights Watch concluded that Israel deliberately targeted and killed three journalists in southern Lebanon.
“Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “Israel must be held accountable for its actions and the international community must act to ensure that journalist murders are not allowed to go unpunished.”
HRW and The Guardian revealed on Monday that the Oct. 25 airstrike in Hasbaya, southern Lebanon, was carried out using a US-supplied bomb guidance kit.
The attack killed Ghassan Najjar, Mohammed Reda, and Wissam Kassem — journalists and media workers affiliated with Hezbollah-linked outlets — and injured three others.
The strike targeted a chalet in a Druze-majority area, which had been used as a press hub for over 20 days by more than a dozen journalists.
The Israeli military initially claimed the attack targeted a “Hezbollah military structure” harboring “terrorists” but later stated the incident was under review after discovering journalists were among the victims.
Investigations found no evidence of military presence or activity at the site. Analysis of shrapnel, video footage, satellite images, and interviews with survivors suggested the attack was a deliberate strike on civilians, constituting an apparent war crime.
HRW noted: “Information reviewed indicates that the Israeli military knew or should have known that journalists were staying in the area and in the targeted building.”
Legal experts also pointed to potential US complicity due to its provision of the weaponry used in the strike.
The incident follows the Oct. 13 killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah in an Israeli tank strike, which also wounded six other journalists.
Independent investigations by Reuters, AFP, HRW, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders concluded the attack deliberately targeted journalists who were clearly identifiable.
Since the outbreak of hostilities in October, CPJ has confirmed the deaths of six Lebanese journalists.
In its Deadly Pattern report published before the war, CPJ found that Israel had failed to hold its military accountable for the killings of at least 20 journalists over the past 22 years.
Tuesday’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has brought a pause to hostilities, but media watchdogs will likely continue to demand accountability for attacks on journalists and press freedom violations.
Saudi, UN bodies sign deal on media training
- Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media
RIYADH: The Saudi Media Forum has signed a cooperation agreement with the UN Institute for Training and Research to promote sustainable development and empower individuals as well as media organizations.
It aims to advance media and training efforts in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and global sustainable development trends, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The agreement focuses on creating lasting impact through innovative training programs that combine academic knowledge with practical applications.
These programs will empower journalists and organizations, enhance professional awareness in both public and private sectors, and promote media literacy and innovative education.
The partnership will also support media organizations in achieving sustainable development goals through professional training, remote learning and educational resources.
Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media.
He added that Saudi Arabia, a nation of continuous renewal, must stay ahead of transformations to advance its development.
The forum continues to forge strategic partnerships with local and international entities to elevate Saudi media’s global standing while providing media professionals and organizations with the tools to create world-class content, the SPA reported.
Israeli soldiers desecrate church in southern Lebanon in latest religious site incident
- IDF soldiers are filmed performing a mock wedding inside an Orthodox church
- Online users question continued support by Western Christians despite rise in attacks toward non-Jewish religious sites
LONDON: Israeli soldiers have come under fire after a video surfaced showing them desecrating a Christian church in southern Lebanon, marking the latest attack on a religious site amid rumors of an imminent truce in Lebanon.
The incident reportedly took place in Deir Mimas, near the border with Israel, and involved soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces Golani Special Operations Unit.
The video, which began circulating widely online on Monday, depicts the soldiers performing a mock wedding ceremony inside the Orthodox church, sparking outrage across social media platforms.
The footage shows a male soldier, pretending to be a bride, wearing a hood and participating in a staged ritual led by another soldier using a disconnected microphone. The mock priest asked for the bride and groom’s names as the group laughed.
The scene escalates into chaos as another soldier interrupts, kneels before the “bride,” and simulates a dramatic objection, followed by soldiers piling on top of each other.
The timing of the video remains unclear, but its release has drawn condemnation online.
Another video of Israeli soldiers desecrating a Church in South Lebanon and mocking the holy sacraments.
— Karim Emile Bitar (@karimbitar) November 25, 2024
Deafening silence of US and European politicians who spent the past 20 years masquerading as defenders of Eastern Christians, only to pander to Western Islamophobes. https://t.co/0ACJuGV1dg
Karim Emile Bitar, professor of international relations at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, called it a blatant act of disrespect, posting on X: “Another video of Israeli soldiers desecrating a Church in South Lebanon and mocking the holy sacraments. Deafening silence of US and European politicians who spent the past 20 years masquerading as defenders of Eastern Christians, only to pander to Western Islamophobes.”
Other users voiced their anger, accusing Western Christians of ignoring Israeli acts of disrespect toward non-Jewish religious sites.
“It is incomprehensible that US Christians continue to blindly defend Israelis who desecrate the Church,” voiced another user.
This incident follows a string of troubling actions targeting cultural and religious landmarks by Israeli forces.
Earlier this month, the same IDF brigade allegedly vandalized two memorials in Hula, south Lebanon, using graffiti that read, “A good Shiite is a dead Shiite.”
In August, footage emerged showing IDF soldiers burning copies of the Qur’an in a Gaza mosque, drawing widespread condemnation and prompting an internal Israeli Military Police investigation.
