This story written by Mong Palatino originally appeared on Global Voices on February 25, 2026.
Online journalist Hem Vanna was arrested on February 3 after posting a video report on an alleged scam compound in Cambodia. His arrest highlighted the growing number of journalists facing harassment for reporting on online scam centers in the country and the government’s crackdown efforts.
Scam centers are a well-established problem in Cambodia as organized crime networks create illegal scam offices and kidnap people — often migrant workers who they lure to the country under false promises of job opportunities — and force them to conduct elaborate online scams. The operations are especially insidious as they victimize both the scam targets and those who are forced to work as slaves under threat of torture or death. Cambodian officials have been working to crack down on the practice since it began attracting international attention in 2021.
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On January 30, Hem Vanna, a publisher behind HVNN TV Online, posted a video report on a suspected online scam compound located near a police station in Poipet. Officials summoned him to the Poipet police station on February 3rd and accused him of “attempting to tarnish the reputation of the institution.”
In an interview with Kiripost news, Khun Dim, a colleague of Vanna, narrated their experience at the station. “We went together, and they accused us of our published reporting. They said we reported inaccuracies, saying that the building is not 100 meters but 700 meters away from the military police station,” he said.
Before his arrest, Vanna appealed to authorities not to threaten journalists, asserting that they serve as “a mirror of society” connecting leaders and citizens.
Vanna was charged under Articles 301 and 495 of the Cambodian penal code, which criminalize intercepting or recording private conversations and incitement. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Several civil society organizations signed a statement condemning Vanna’s arrest.
The arrest and charging of this journalist is yet another incident that demonstrates the government’s tendency to silence members of the press through the misuse of criminal law. Authorities could have sought clarification or requested a correction, if necessary, through lawful and proportionate means under the Press Law.
Am Sam Ath, operational director of the Cambodian human rights group Licadho, bemoaned the weaponization of laws to intimidate journalists. “If we look at the space for press freedom, it seems to be shrinking, especially since Cambodia has a press law, but they don’t seem to prioritize using this law for journalists,” he said.
According to media watchdogs, five Cambodian journalists were arrested in 2025 in connection with their reporting. In the past two months alone, six journalists were arrested and charged with criminal offences for their reporting on escalating tensions at the Thailand-Cambodia border and suspected online scam compounds.
Thousands of Cambodian and foreign individuals have been rescued after being forced to work at alleged online scam centers across the country. The Cambodian government has vowed to conduct more raids and arrests to save migrant workers and stop the proliferation of the scam centers suspected of having ties with organized criminal networks.
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The arrest of Vanna and the targeting of journalists reporting on the scam center issue drew concern from global media groups. Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), urged authorities to focus on addressing cybercrime rather than policing those who draw attention to it.
Hem Vanna’s arrest is a clear act of retaliation for reporting on Cambodia’s cyberscam industry. Journalism is not a crime, but cyberscamming is. Authorities must stop using vague criminal laws to silence critical reporting on an issue of national and global importance.
Cédric Alviani, Asia-Pacific bureau director of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said authorities should not silence journalists reporting on public interest issues.
Journalist Hem Vanna simply did his job by exposing acts of violence and the existence of a cyber-scam compound. His reporting is clearly in the public interest, and it is shocking that the authorities are trying to silence him.
Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia editor of The Diplomat online magazine, wrote that authorities should welcome media scrutiny of online scam centers if they wanted the crackdown to succeed.
Given the credible allegations of elite collusion with Cambodia-based scam syndicates, and several years of ineffectual crackdowns, it is natural — indeed, necessary — to question the nature and extent of the current anti-scam campaign. The same is true of the government’s treatment of the press. If the scam crackdown was genuine, the government would presumably welcome unbiased media coverage. Its apparent allergy to scrutiny invites suspicions that the current crackdown may not be all as it seems.
On February 11, human rights group ADHOC submitted an intervention letter to the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court requesting it to intervene in the release of journalist Vanna.
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