Concern grows over the arrest of an award-winning journalist in the US after he reported online scam centers

() –– International concern is growing over the arrest of a prominent Cambodian journalist who helped expose the human trafficking that fuels the online scam centersand several governments and human rights groups are calling for his immediate release.

Mech Dara was arrested on Monday by Cambodian police and charged with incitement to “cause serious social chaos” for social media posts he made last month about operations at a rock quarry, according to a statement from the Municipal Court of Cambodia. Phnom Penh in the country’s capital. He could face two years in prison on each charge.

The award-winning journalist is known for his investigations that expose corruption, environmental destruction and human trafficking in a country that severely restricts press freedom. Cambodian NGO LICADHO said it has consistently pushed for accountability and justice.

In 2023, Mech Dara won the US State Department’s TIP Hero Award for his work uncovering the multi-billion dollar illegal scam industry in Cambodia. Images show him standing next to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who presented the award.

In a statement posted on The embassy called the journalist “a leading voice against human trafficking and online scams” ​​and a “defender of freedom of expression, guaranteed in the constitution.”

The USAID Cambodia Anti-Human Trafficking Project stated that Mech Dara “is the embodiment of the ideals of a free society in Cambodia” and that it “publicly supports this great person and anti-trafficking hero.”

The European Union and Australia also expressed concern about his detention. “All Cambodians should be able to exercise their right to freedom of expression without fear of arrest or prosecution,” the Australian embassy in Cambodia said.

A group of 46 Cambodian media outlets and civil society organizations called for Mech Dara’s immediate release, saying his arrest “is a clear attempt to intimidate and silence him and other journalists.”

Human rights groups have said Cambodian authorities frequently use incitement charges against human rights defenders, activists, journalists and government critics.

A primary focus of Mech Dara’s work is Cambodia’s role at the center of a scam epidemic in Southeast Asia that has ensnared hundreds of thousands of victims and raised global security concerns at agencies such as the US State Department. .USA and United Nations.

Across Asia, many people are tricked into accepting seemingly legitimate jobs in the region and then trafficked into fraudulent housing complexes where they face serious abuses, including forced labor, arbitrary detention, degrading treatment or torture, and often receive minimal or no help from local authorities.

According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and law enforcement agencies, the epicenter of this network is Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. The UN says 100,000 people could be detained in compounds across Cambodia and another 120,000 people in Myanmar in conditions amounting to modern slavery.

From these complexes, transnational criminal gangs, run primarily by Chinese, run lucrative online operations ranging from illegal gambling to love scams and cryptocurrency frauds. The victims are from all over the world, including the United States.

In Cambodia, the industry generates US$12.8 billion annually, equivalent to half of the country’s GDP. according to USIP.

According to VOA reportsjournalists reporting on the scam hub industry in Cambodia have been victims of harassment, surveillance and legal threats. could not independently verify the reports.

Human rights groups say Cambodia’s media sector has been decimated in recent years by former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ruled the country for more than three decades before handing power to his eldest son, Hun Manet, in 2022.

Cambodia is ranked 151 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index. Since 2018, independent media have been dismantled or forced to close, and censorship, state surveillancenews blackouts and online harassment they are out of control.

As a freelancer, Mech Dara worked for several local and international media outlets, including Voice of Democracy, which was seen forced to close last year.

The closure of Cambodia’s last remaining independent media outlet was widely condemned as the final blow to press freedom in the country.

Then, Mech Dara had told : “We fight for the truth. “We’ve always done it, but clearly some people couldn’t handle it.”

“There are many stories to tell about Cambodia from Cambodia and this extends to the wider region, to countries like Myanmar and Vietnam,” he added. “It is a space that becomes increasingly narrower and voices are silenced so that the outside world cannot see inside.”

In one statement Commenting on his arrest, Amnesty International research director Kate Schuetze said the charges against Mech Dara show “once again that the Cambodian government will not hesitate to repress journalists.”

“This is the latest step in the new Government’s campaign to erase press freedom,” he said.

–– ‘s Kathleen Magramo, Teele Rebane and Heather Chen contributed to this report.