Groups Report Decline in Press Freedom in 2009

Hang Chakra, Editor-in-chief of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper: Jailed

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
Monday, 03 May 2010

Cambodia remains a difficult place to practice journalism, with courts used by powerful officials and businessmen to pressure the media, journalists and rights workers said Monday, on World Press Freedom Day.

In the one year since the last Press Freedom Day, 24 Cambodian journalists were arrested and 10 sued by powerful interests, the Cambodian Club of Journalists said in a statement.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Cambodia No. 117 of 174 countries in press freedom.

Those arrested include Hang Chakra, editor of the opposition-aligned Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper, who was released in April after serving nearly 10 months of a one-year sentence.

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