"A journalist who covered the land grab and deforestation of a community forest by a mining company has himself been charged with deforestation."
"STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — It was late in the afternoon of Sept. 16 when Ouk Mao finally answered his phone. The environmental journalist had spent much of that Monday making preparations in case he was jailed the next day.
Mao was accused of illegal logging in the northeastern province of Stung Treng. Mao is known in his community for having played a key role in exposing a land grab perpetrated by mining company Lin Vatey, which has ties to senior figures within the Cambodian military.
His reporting on Lin Vatey’s logging and mining operations had earned him the ire of local authorities, so he wasn’t overly surprised when, on Aug. 20, he was summoned for questioning at the Stung Treng Provincial Court. But he was surprised by the charges: illegally clearing state-owned forest and incitement. These are crimes that carry jail sentences of 10 and two years respectively, as well as fines totaling tens of thousands of dollars. The questioning was set for Sept. 17, leaving Mao convinced he would be jailed.
“It is just a pretext to arrest me,” Mao told Mongabay. “They are angry at me because I covered the news in the community forest of Phnom Chum Rok Sat that affects the high-ranking officials, so the court accused me of clearing forest because I have talked a lot about deforestation.”"
Gerald Flynn and Nehru Pry report for Mongabay September 27, 2024.
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