Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the global media safety and rights body, demands justice to Cambodian journalist Chhoeung Chheung, who was shot by a homemade gun inside a forest reserve in Siem Reap locality on 4 December 2024. Chheung (63), who worked for an online media outlet named Kampuchea Aphivath (Cambodia Development News), emerged as a media activist against deforestation in Cambodia and hence he was seemingly targeted by the miscreants. The dedicated journalist died of bullet injuries on 7 December igniting protests by the international press freedom outfits.
“We demand justice for Chhoeung Chheung, who becomes the 161 st media worker to be killed across 21 countries of the world till this year. The Cambodian authorities may try to project it as a personal vendetta that led to the killing, but only a fair and comprehensive probe can justify the findings. We also urge the authority in Phnom Penh led by Prime Minister Hun Manet to compensate the bereaved family of Chheung, who raised voices against illegal timber logging in the tiny country,” said Blaise Lempen, president of PEC (pressemblem.ch).
PEC’s southern Asia representative Nava Thakuria informed that Chheung is the first journo-victim of Cambodia recorded since 1 January. The local investigating agencies have already arrested one suspect who confessed to the shooting incident and it’s expected that the authoritarian government run by Cambodian People’s Party will identify the actual cause of Chheung’s elimination.
Besides Cambodia, many south and southeast Asian nations have lost many journalists to assailants this year, where Pakistan topped the list ( 11 media casualties), followed by Bangladesh (7), India (4), Myanmar (3), Indonesia (1) and Philippines (1).
