PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Two Cambodian journalists were sentenced to fourteen years in prison on February 20, 2026, after being convicted of treason for posting photographs related to a border dispute with Thailand, according to reports from the Associated Press and human rights organizations.
Phorn Sopheap, of Battambang Post TV Online, and Pheap Pheara, of TSP 68 TV Online, were arrested in July 2025 while returning from reporting trips near the Ta Krabei Temple in Oddar Meanchey province, a region that has seen intermittent clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces. The Siem Reap Provincial Court found them guilty of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense” under article 445 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.
The conviction stems from photographs taken in a restricted military zone, one of which appeared to present anti-personnel landmines. Thai government agencies and media outlets had previously published the same photograph, alleging that Cambodian soldiers had laid modern landmines in violation of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, to which both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories. Cambodia denied the allegations, claiming the mines were remnants of past conflicts.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the sentencing, with Senior Southeast Asia Representative Shawn Crispin stating on Friday that Cambodian authorities “must not challenge Pheap Phara and Phorn Sopheap’s appeal against these outrageous convictions and should stop using vague national security laws to criminalize legitimate reporting.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also criticized the court’s decision, calling it a politically motivated prosecution intended to stifle independent journalism. HRW noted that the trial lasted only one day in December, raising concerns about due process.
The sentencing of Sopheap and Pheara is part of a broader pattern of repression against journalists in Cambodia, particularly those reporting on sensitive issues such as the border conflict with Thailand. Meas Sara was charged with incitement in August 2025 after live-streaming interviews with villagers displaced by the fighting. More recently, on February 13, 2026, Luot Sophal, a journalist with Srotop Yuvakvey news, was arrested and charged with incitement to commit a felony and demoralizing the armed forces after reporting on alleged water shortages affecting Cambodian troops stationed along the border.
Despite the crackdown on press freedom, the Cambodian government, led by Prime Minister Hun Manet, has sought to engage with international media. Hun Manet granted a rare interview to Reuters shortly after Sophal’s arrest, a move that some observers see as a public relations effort to counter negative coverage of the government’s human rights record.
