🇰🇭 Give us back Mech Dara

Hello friends!

A quick, but vital update from me on this Wednesday morning.

I don’t personally know Mech Dara, but the legend of this heavy-hitting Cambodian journalist has gone far. Out my way, having worked with Mech Dara is spoken about as a point of pride by foreign journalists. To work with Mech Dara in Cambodia means you’ve gotten the story.

His work has featured in every single one of Cambodia’s fantastic outlets — most of them since shuttered by a government hostile to a free press. His work is widely recognised and has won awards for covering human trafficking in the horrendous scam centres dotting the country.

Dara was arrested in Koh Kong province while travelling with family from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh on Monday with police citing an outstanding warrant, CamboJA reports. “I was arrested and sent to military province police (sic),” he said in a message sent to rights group Licadho before his phone was presumably confiscated. Military police confirmed the arrest but withheld details about why and where he was being held until Tuesday evening. 

His legal team told CamboJA he appeared at Phnom Penh Municipal Court Tuesday afternoon where he was charged with “incitement to disturb social security.” The charges relate to social media posts made in the last few days of September. 

According to CamboJA reporting, Dara is being held in pre-trial detention at Kandal provincial prison.

This piece from Jacob Sims at the Diplomat’ shows why this arrest and detention is so important. On Dara’s reporting of the scam centres: ‘Dara’s expertise has played a pivotal role, via his own bylines, his extensive freelance work with global media outlets, and the significant network he has developed with key sources at the community level. It is not an overstatement to suggest that anyone who today reaps vocational benefit from their “industry expertise” on Cambodian crime networks or trafficking patterns owes a significant debt to Mech Dara.’

I don’t have anything to add, but I do have a platform. As many people as possible should know what’s happening here and for any media workers on this list, please consider emailing your union to make a statement of support. One thing I’ve always liked about Dara, beyond his fantastic work, is his joke-y internet presence. In between journalism jobs, he often posts photos of himself doing ride-hailing gig work. With outlets forced to close and bylines harder to come by, he’s never given up and I think he should be seen as a model for journalists the world over. 

I hope we’ll have a good news update soon, but for now please keep Mech Dara and his family and community in your thoughts.

Erin Cook