TransparencyAbuse of power & retaliationCourts & justice
Cambodian court gives journalist Hem Vanna a suspended sentence after military police arrested him over a report on a scam compound
Confidence: Corroborated · 3 sourcesBanteay Meanchey · Oct 6, 2026
Subject of this story
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Military Police (Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia)
Also named
Oversight
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court
Affected
Hem Vanna, Journalist, HVNN TV Online
Advocate
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
What happened
Journalist Hem Vanna of HVNN TV Online posted a video on 30 January 2026 about alleged violence at a scam compound in Poipet that he said stood 100-200 metres from a military police building. Banteay Meanchey military police arrested him in early February 2026; he was held about two months and released on bail on 8 April. On 29 July 2026 the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court convicted him of incitement to commit a felony and of recording a private conversation and gave him a six-month suspended sentence. Reporters Without Borders and CPJ criticised the case; a pro-government outlet said he apologised in writing.
By the numbers (1)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Roles
○
Hem Vanna received a six-month suspended sentence on 29 July 2026.
1 source
- rsf.org
six-month suspended sentence on 29 July 2026
Sources (3)
rsf.orgJournalist Hem Vanna simply did his job by exposing acts of violence and the existence of a cyber-scam compound; six-month suspended sentence on 29 July 2026.
Committee to Protect JournalistsCPJ: Cambodian journalist Hem Vanna arrested after cyberscam report.
LICADHOConvicted 29 July 2026 by Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court of incitement (Articles 494 and 495) and intercepting a private conversation (Article 301); released on bail 8 April 2026.
Response
Banteay Meanchey Provincial Military Police (Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia)
Not yet contacted
Not yet contacted for this story.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.