CPJ signs joint statement calling for release of Cambodian journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara

The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday joined 15 local and international partners in a joint statement calling for the release of imprisoned Cambodian journalists Phon Sopheap and Pheap Phara.

The journalists were each sentenced to 14 years in prison for treason on December 17, 2025, under Section 445 of the criminal code for “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense.”

On March 26, the journalists’ appeals were rejected by the Battambang Province Court of Appeal, which also declined a request to reclassify their treason convictions to a lesser charge.

The joint statement called on Cambodia’s government to withdraw its complaint and for the court to release the journalists. The groups said that the severity of the sentences are likely to further deter journalists from carrying out legitimate work in the public interest. 

Read the full statement here.