Former RFA journalists denied bail
Published on 16 March 2018
Former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin were denied bail at the Supreme Court today. Upholding an Appeal Court decision to continue their pre-trial detention, Presiding Judge Khim Pon claimed an investigation was still underway and that releasing the men could result in “serious damage”.
Sothearin and Chhin were arrested on 14 November 2017 and charged on suspicion of treason. They have spent 118 days in Phnom Penh’s overcrowded CC1 prison.
The men worked for RFA’s Khmer language service until the US-funded media outlet shut its Phnom Penh Bureau on 12 September 2017, citing government repression and the forced closure of its FM radio broadcasts.
They have been charged under Article 445 of the Criminal Code which covers providing information to foreign states or agents which can “undermine national defence”. If convicted they face prison sentences of between 7 and 15 years. No trial date has been set.
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