LIBRARY

7 August 2026

The Battambang Appeal Court yesterday upheld prison sentences ranging from six to 10 years against three men in two separate cases after they took photographs that were allegedly related to the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict.

Mik Deap, 33, and Hun Hong, 36, residents of Samrong city in Oddar Meanchey, were convicted by the Siem Reap Provincial Court on 11 May 2026 on charges of “collecting information prejudicial to national defense” and “attempting to commit a felony” under Articles 446 and 27 of the Criminal Code. The Battambang Appeal Court yesterday upheld their six-year prison sentences.

7 August 2026

This is the third video of Mr. Ny Roeun, a Tampuan Indigenous person living in Ratanakiri province. This video continues his testimony about the hardships of debt and the difficulties of seeking a resolution through the National Bank of Cambodia and with the microfinance institutions from which he borrowed money—an organization previously funded by the World Bank.

6 August 2026

This is the third video of Mr. Rocham Saing, a Kachok Indigenous person living in Ratanakiri province. This video continues his powerful story about facing problems with his debt. He tells of his experience seeking a resolution through the National Bank of Cambodia and with the microfinance institution from which he borrowed money, an institution previously funded by the World Bank.

5 August 2026

High-resolution satellite imagery taken around March 2026 confirms that Thai forces have razed and cleared at least 627 homes and other structures in at least three villages along the Cambodia-Thailand border after the December 2025 ceasefire agreement between the two neighbours.

5 August 2026

This is the third video of Mr. Sot Sovan and Mrs. Khoy Thavin, a Kuy indigenous family living in Preah Vihear province, speaking about the hardships of debt and their experience seeking a resolution through the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the National Bank of Cambodia, and the institutions from which they borrowed money that received funds from the World Bank.

31 July 2026

This morning, around 100 people from four land communities in two districts of Koh Kong province gathered in front of the Koh Kong provincial hall to demand a resolution to their ongoing land conflict and to request the provision of social land to the poor and displaced families in their communities who still await intervention. At the same time, around 60 affected villagers from Kratie’s Ou Krieng Saenchey district gathered in Phnom Penh seeking an intervention in their own land conflict.

The four land communities in Koh Kong include the 197 Land Community, the 955 Land Community, the 175 Land Community (otherwise known as the “Chi Kha Kroam” Land Community), and the Thma Sar Sameakki Land Community. Together, they assembled in the rain in front of the provincial hall to wave banners, calling for a faster resolution to their land conflict and demanding that the authorities receive their follow-up petition. Their follow-up petition includes 856 families from six communes in Srae Ambel and Botum Sakor districts requesting social land concessions. Today’s gathering came after a lack of response to their petitions at the district and provincial levels as well as at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in Phnom Penh in March and May 2026.

30 July 2026

Members of the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) in Preah Vihear province are calling for local authorities to take stronger action against a group of illegal timber traders who threatened community members during a patrol of the wildlife sanctuary last week.
PLCN members encountered a group of timber traders preparing to load illegal logs onto a truck on 26 July while patrolling in Thmea commune, Chey Saen district. A video clip published on forest activist Ma Chettra’s social media account shows the alleged loggers insulting and threatening to beat community members who were trying to stop them, and later leaving the area without the logs.

29 July 2026

The Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court convicted Hem Vanna, an online journalist from HVNN TV Online, to a suspended 6-month prison sentence for incitement to commit a felony under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code, and for intercepting or recording a private conversation under Article 301.

Vanna spent over two months in Banteay Meanchey Prison since his arrest and imprisonment on 4 February 2026. He was then released on bail on 8 April 2026 following his second bail hearing at the provincial court after his investigation closed the day prior. His previous bail request was denied by the lower court on 18 February 2026, a decision that was upheld by the Battambang Appeal Court in April 2026.

27 July 2026

On the afternoon of 20 July 2026, Ky Sivlang, a Candlelight Party commune council member for Veal Vong and Khmer Will Party Chief for Kampong Cham City, was arrested and charged with the use of a forged public document under Articles 629 and 630 of the Criminal Code. She is currently being held in pre-trial detention in Kampong Cham provincial prison.

Sivlang, 56, was arrested while commuting to her workplace at the Veal Vong commune hall. Shortly thereafter, she was sent for questioning at the Kampong Cham Police Commissariat and then sent to the Kampong Cham Provincial Court. She was ordered to remain in pre-trial detention in prison on the afternoon of 23 July 2026 under Article 630. Her arrest and subsequent criminal charges stem from her alleged use of a fake motorbike license plate number.

22 July 2026

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court upheld three separate convictions Tuesday morning related to offenses stemming from online commentary about the country’s political leadership, the ongoing Thai border conflict, and other social issues.

Oy Dina, a 20-year-old coconut seller, was arrested in March 2025 by plainclothes police officers in Phnom Penh. She was convicted by the Phnom Penh Capital Court in September 2025 on charges of insult and incitement under Articles 494, 495, and 502 of the Criminal Code. The court handed her an 18-month prison sentence and a 2 million riel fine (around $500 USD) for critical comments she made online about the Cambodian government.

21 July 2026

Nation Power Party (NPP) activist, Nun Thida, was arrested in Svay Rieng province on 11 July 2026 and charged by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court with “unauthorized use of emblem regulated by public authority” under Article 614 of the Criminal Code. He was charged after wearing a military uniform while installing NPP signboards in Mukh Da and Tras communes.

Thida, who is a 57-year-old construction worker from Romeas Haek district's Mream commune, was questioned at the district police inspectorate and later transferred to the Svay Rieng Provincial Court for further questioning. He has been in pre-trial detention in Svay Rieng provincial prison since 14 July 2026 and faces up to one year in prison and a fine if convicted.

21 July 2026

On 15 July 2026, the Phnom Penh Capital Court convicted 19-year-old social media user and tuk tuk driver Chhoeurng Sovan to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of 4 million riel (about US $1,000) for demoralization of the army and incitement to disturb social security under Articles 472, 494, and 495 of the Criminal Code.

Sovan was arrested while driving his tuk tuk near Sihanoukville’s Independence Monument on 30 December 2025. He was sent for questioning by the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Police Commissariat before being transferred to the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat and the Phnom Penh Capital Court the following day.

17 July 2026

Dear Samdech Prime Minister,

We, the representatives of media associations and national and international civil society organizations, are deeply concerned over the recent court decision sentencing two journalists, Phon Sopheap and Pheap Pheara to 14 years’ imprisonment each.

Article 27 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia provides that His Majesty the King has the constitutional authority to grant full or partial amnesty. Pursuant to Article 77 of the Law on Prisons, the Prime Minister holds the exclusive authority to submit requests for the granting of royal amnesty to His Majesty the King.

In accordance with these legal provisions, we respectfully ask Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, to exercise this authority by submitting a request to His Majesty the King to grant amnesty to Phon Sopheap and Pheap Pheara. Granting such clemency would enable them to regain their liberty, reunite with their families and young children, and resume their professional work as journalists.

17 July 2026

The Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court yesterday convicted Ung Thap Reang, editor-in-chief of the Khmer Cheayden news outlet, and issued him a suspended six-month prison sentence. He was convicted on charges of defamation and incitement under Articles 305, 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code.

Thap Reang was sued by the chief of the Police Inspectorate in Poipet city in May 2025, after he published an article on Khmer Cheayden’s Facebook page about an alleged irregularity in a report made by the police chief in a violence case. Thap Reang was subsequently placed under judicial supervision on 22 October 2025, and subject to strict conditions under Article 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

16 July 2026

The Phnom Penh Capital Court yesterday convicted and sentenced a tuk tuk driver, Hok Ren, to four years in prison on charges of demoralising the armed forces and incitement in connection with a social media post he made about the Cambodia-Thailand conflict.

Ren, 51, was arrested in Phnom Penh on 19 December 2025 shortly after he published a Facebook post critical of the government’s response to the conflict with Thailand last year. He was charged under Article 472 for demoralisation of the army, and Articles 494 and 495 pertaining to incitement to commit a felony. He was also charged under Article 88 for committing the same misdemeanour twice within a span of five years, effectively doubling his sentence. Ren, who has a physical disability following the amputation of his leg, has been detained in Correctional Center 3 in Tboung Khmum province since his arrest.

15 July 2026

Luot Sophal, a journalist for Srotop Yuvakvey News, was sentenced to two years in prison by the Oddar Meanchey Provincial Court yesterday morning for demoralising the armed forces and incitement to commit a felony under Articles 472, 494, and 495 of the Criminal Code.

Sophal, 38, was arrested in February in Oddar Meanchey’s Chongkal district following a Facebook live stream that discussed an alleged water shortage faced by frontline soldiers and included a photograph of government leaders, according to a statement released by the Oddar Meanchey Provincial Court. He has been in pre-trial detention in Oddar Meanchey prison since his arrest.

14 July 2026

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court yesterday rejected the application for release of Rath Sothy, a deputy commune chief in Battambang's Anlong Vil commune and a former Candlelight Party district chief, who was charged with “plotting” under Article 453 of the Criminal Code.

Sothy, 54, was arrested in January while at his farm in Banan district. The charges related to Facebook posts Sothy shared and commented on. He was arrested by police from Phnom Penh's Anti Cybercrime Office.

14 July 2026

Intimate image abuse is a type of gender-based violence emerging across Cambodia. LICADHO has documented 24 cases involving intimate image abuse since 2021, with more than one-third opened in the last 12 months alone. While these cases likely represent only a small fraction of those occurring in Cambodia, they reveal clear patterns of abuse.

If someone has taken, shared, or threatened to share your intimate photos or videos without your consent, it is never your fault. No one should be made to feel ashamed or believe they are to blame because someone else chose to violate their privacy or abuse their trust. Many acts of intimate image abuse are illegal in Cambodia. You can contact LICADHO for safe, confidential support.

13 July 2026

Thy Sovantha and her husband, Phae Sovannarith, were sentenced this morning to three years in prison by the Phnom Penh Capital Court following social media posts that were allegedly critical of the military.

Sovantha was a former opposition activist who in 2017 joined the ruling party. She was later appointed deputy governor of Kandal's Akreiy Ksatr municipality in 2023. Sovantha maintained a large following on Facebook and posted frequently about Cambodia's conflict with Thailand during the first round of fighting in 2025.

13 July 2026

This morning the Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold the convictions of Mer Seng Hor, also known as Kea Visal, deputy head of the Nation Power Party (NPP) in Kampong Cham province, and Khem Chanvannak, acting head of Candlelight Party in Phnom Penh.

Seng Hor’s verdict comes after he has already served a two-year prison sentence for incitement to discriminate and public insult under Articles 494, 496, and 307 of the Criminal Code. He was arrested in March 2024 and convicted in August that year in relation to Facebook posts he made deemed critical of the government’s democratic track record. He was released in March 2026 from Phnom Penh’s Police Judiciary (PJ) prison upon the completion of this sentence.