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Human Rights Watch called on Cambodian authorities to immediately release journalists and critics detained for reporting on and expressing views about the Thai-Cambodia border conflict in July and August 2025.
The rights watchdog said at least 16 people have been arrested, most charged with incitement, while at least three others face treason charges carrying potential prison sentences of up to 15 years.
The long-standing Thai-Cambodia border dispute escalated on July 24 with Cambodian rocket fire and Thai airstrikes, prompting a surge of social media posts and state-backed reports, many of which contained false information, according to the BBC.
“Cambodian authorities are using the recent Thai border conflict as a pretext to intimidate people who freely express their views on social media and to harass critics of the government,” said Bryony Lau, HRW's deputy Asia director. “These wrongful detentions and misuse of incitement and treason charges show the Cambodian government’s disregard for free expression and media freedom.”
Among those arrested is a disabled man, Phun Yuth, who was charged over Facebook posts about Prime Minister Hun Manet. A provincial court ruled that his public comments constituted “incitement to commit a major crime,” a charge that could result in a prison sentence of six months to two years and a fine of one to four million riel ($248–995).
Authorities have intensified their crackdown on critics amid clashes with Thailand, which began on July 24 and have been described as “the most severe escalation of violence between the two Southeast Asian neighbors in more than a decade,” reportedly forcing the evacuation of over 130,000 people from affected areas in Thailand.
Since the clashes began, Cambodian authorities have arrested three journalists. One has been released while his case is ongoing. The other two remain in detention, charged with treason for posting a photograph of themselves with Cambodian soldiers at a historical temple near the Thai border that allegedly showed landmines in the background.
Cambodia has a long record of clamping down on press freedom and silencing opposition by invoking incitement laws against journalists and government critics. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deemed in 2022 that Cambodia’s incitement law is inconsistent with international human rights standards.
