AKP Phnom Penh, May 07, 2025 --

Promoting the media professionalism and protecting as well as respecting the rights and freedom of the journalists are what the Ministry of Information has been paying attention to as a top priority, said H.E. Tep Asnarith, the ministry’s Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson.

From 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, to protect the rights and freedom of the journalists, the Ministry of Information has intervened and coordinated to resolve a total of 57 cases involving misconducts, he told AKP.

All the ministry’s efforts on these issues are strictly carried out in accordance with the Law on Press Regime, and the ministry had provided lawyers to help in court proceedings to defend journalists in 8 court cases.

During the same period, a total of 43 cases were resolved through the oriented-advocation process on professionalism and code of ethics, based on the Charter for Professional Journalism, as well as other intervention cases, he added.

“For some acts of violation to the provisions of the Press Law, the code of ethics and professionalism, the media licence, and serious violation on individual privacy rights and they refuse to correct their mistakes, the ministry has also taken measures to revoke the licenses of 9 organisations, issued warning letters to 13 organisations, and suspended the licence of 1 organisation,” he said.

Regarding the situation of the press law in Cambodia, any baseless statements, without a clear basis, no evidence, no testimonials, no real studies, cannot be taken as fact, and those groundless comments can eventually become act of distortion, the spokesperson emphasised.

Based on the study on the press freedom in Cambodia in 2025, no intimidation, or restrictions on the rights of journalists were found. What the study has documented are only the cases related to strengthening the implementation of the laws for the acts and violation committed outside of the scope of the Press Law, which have been implemented in accordance with the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

H.E. Tep Asnarith added that in cases when a journalist has committed misconduct on professionalism or encountered disputes in news reporting, the ministry has provided the support, assistance, and legal protection in accordance with the Press Law.

By Heng Panha