By Poppy McPherson
(Reuters) – Cambodian military police said on Tuesday they have arrested an award-winning reporter known for investigating local corruption, trafficking and online scam centres, prompting concern from a prominent human rights group and the United States.
Mech Dara, who worked for international and local news outlets, was detained on Monday, said military police spokesperson Eng Hy, without specifying the charges.
“We have implemented a court warrant to bring him to court. His whereabouts, I don’t know,” the spokesperson said.
According to human rights group Licadho, Dara had informed them he was being detained after being stopped at a highway toll booth on the border of Koh Kong and Sihanouk province in the country’s southwest.
“Dara must be freed so he can continue his work to shed light on issues like human trafficking, forced labour and corruption,” Licadho’s co-director Naly Pilorge said, adding his status and whereabouts was unknown.
“Arresting one of Cambodia’s bravest journalists will have a devastating effect on access to information for all Cambodians.”
Reuters was unable to independently confirm details of the arrest.
Dara was given a hero award last year by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, recognising his work exposing the existence of massive scam compounds staffed mostly by trafficked workers in Cambodia.
The U.S. State Department was aware of reports of Dara’s arrest, a spokesperson said, adding “we are following developments closely with great concern”.
Southeast Asia has in recent years emerged as the epicentre of a multibillion-dollar criminal industry targeting victims globally with fraudulent crypto and other schemes, often operating from fortified compounds run by Chinese syndicates and staffed by trafficked workers.
Washington last month sanctioned Cambodian businessman and ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat, nicknamed the “king of Koh Kong” after his influence over his home province, over alleged connections to the industry.
The Senator has expressed regret over the U.S. measures, which Cambodia’s government said were politically motivated.
Cambodia once had a flourishing local media scene but has sunk close to the bottom of global press freedom indexes in recent years as authorities have shuttered the remaining independent outlets, several of which Dara worked for.
At the time, the journalist, who had worked his way up from handling archives to breaking big news, told BBC News every newsroom he had worked in had been silenced.
Cambodia’s government has maintained it does not stifle free speech but will punish those who break laws.
(Reporting by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Martin Petty)
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