Cambodian journalists Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap given 14-year prison sentences for treason

Bangkok, February 20, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harsh 14-year prison sentences handed to Cambodian journalists Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap for treason, after they were found guilty of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense.”

Phara, a reporter with the local TSP 68 TV Online, and Sopheap, a journalist with the local Battambang Post TV Online, were convicted in a one-day trial on December 17, 2025, under Section 445 of the criminal code, an anti-state provision that carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence, according to local news reports citing their lawyer.

The sentencing was only revealed when the reporters appealed on Monday, according to the news reports.

“Cambodian authorities must not challenge Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap’s appeal against these outrageous convictions and should stop using vague national security laws to criminalize legitimate reporting,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Equating news reporting with treason is farcical and shows the extraordinary lengths Cambodian authorities will go to suppress the news.”

Siem Reap court spokesperson Yin Srang said a statement on the convictions would be issued shortly, but declined to answer questions about the ruling, the news reports said. The journalists’ lawyer, Un Chanthol, said they would both appeal the ruling, the reports said.

Phara and Sopheap were both arrested on July 31, 2025, after returning from reporting on a Cambodia-Thailand border dispute in northwestern Oddar Meanchey province.

It was not immediately clear which reports prompted the treason charges, but both reporters were photographed before their arrests with Cambodian soldiers in front of a Buddhist temple with what appeared to be unplaced landmines, the reports said.

Cambodian officials have denied Thai government allegations that Cambodian forces have laid new landmines in contested border areas during recent hostilities, which would represent a violation of Cambodia’s obligations under the Ottawa treaty banning landmines.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Cambodia is among Asia’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least six reporters held behind bars, according to CPJ’s data.