Cambodia: RSF urges authorities to conduct thorough investigation into shooting of two environmental journalists

On 5 June 2025, Thlang Tao and Hang Chenda were ambushed and came under gunfirefrom assailants hiding by the roadside as they travelled by motorbike at night through Stung Treng province in north-eastern Cambodia. Fortunately, both journalists escaped the attack unharmed.

Both reporters work for the online news outlet Norkor Achhariyakand were returning from an investigation into illegal logging in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The assault came soon after they reported the illegal activity of loggers to the authorities. Two suspects of the attack were arrested at their homes the following day and placed in custody.

Thlang Tao told RSF that he suspects individuals linked to the illegal logging industry orchestrated the attack. He also denounced the authorities' conduct, saying they refused to show him the investigation report and asked him to sign it with a fingerprint without reading its contents aloud. "I am very worried for my life and for the safety of my family. This was an attempted murder - the shooters didn't fire into the air as the authorities claimed. They chased us for nearly a kilometre. They only missed their shots because we were riding fast," he said.

Violence against journalists covering deforestation in Cambodia has been rising at an alarming rate in recent months. In December 2024, environmental journalist Chhoeung Chhoeng, of the outlet Kampuchea Aphivath, was shot deadby an illegal logger whose activities he had exposed. The killer was sentencedin May 2025 to 12 years in prison.

Environmental reporters are also routinely subjected to judicial harassment by the Cambodian authorities. In May, journalist Uk Maoof Eagle News was arbitrarily detained for several daysand currently faces around fifteen complaints in retaliation for his investigations into deforestation. In January 2025, British investigative journalist Gerald Flynnwas expelled from the countryand banned from entering Cambodia - a retaliatory measure for his environmental reporting.

In just three years, Cambodia dropped 19 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Indexand now ranks 161st out of 180 countries and territories, falling into the category of nations where the press freedom situation is considered "very serious."