The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 15 other press freedom and civil society organizations on Friday in calling on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to recommend an amnesty for imprisoned journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara, both of whom are serving 14-year sentences on espionage charges.
The journalists were convicted on December 17, 2025, of supplying a foreign state with information judged as prejudicial to national defense, in connection with a photograph they posted of a Buddhist temple showing landmines in the background in a border area with Thailand during recent armed hostilities.
The letter says their convictions, which were upheld on appeal in March, represent “one of the most serious actions” taken against Cambodian journalists and “raise significant concerns about freedom of expression, press freedom, and the use of national security laws against members of the media.”
Under Cambodian law, the prime minister holds exclusive authority to submit requests for royal amnesties to the country’s king. Such clemency, the letter says, “would enable [Phon Sopheap and Pheap Pheara] to regain their liberty, reunite with their families and young children, and resume their professional work as journalists.”
Read the full letter here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2026-07-17T09:00:00+00:00) CPJ, partners call on Cambodian PM to seek release of journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Pheara. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/07/17/cpj-partners-call-on-cambodian-pm-to-seek-release-of-journalists-phon-sopheap-and-pheap-pheara/
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