Bangkok, September 12, 2025—Cambodian authorities must immediately release journalists Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap, drop all pending accusations against them, and stop using anti-state laws to harass reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.

Phara, a reporter with the local TSP 68 TV Online, and Sopheap, a journalist with Battambang Post TV Online, were arrested separately on July 31 after returning from reporting on a Cambodia-Thailand border dispute in Uddar Meanchey province, news reports said.

Both reporters are accused under Section 445 of the criminal code of “delivering information to foreign states as a crime to endanger national defense,” according to a statement by local rights group LICADHO.

 “Reporting on national security issues is not a crime and is crucial to the public interest during armed conflicts,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Cambodian authorities must immediately free Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap, end the use of legal threats to silence the press, and uphold the vital role of independent journalism during security crises.”

A prosecutor’s office statement released on September 10 and quoted in reports said the journalists entered a restricted battlefield area to collect information and take photographs.

Convictions under the anti-state provision may be treated as treason and carry prison sentences of between seven to 15 years. Sopheap and Phara are currently being held at the Siem Reap provincial prison, reports said.

Cambodia and Thailand engaged in several days of armed hostilities in late July over contested border areas, killing at least 43 people on both sides, but have maintained a delicate ceasefire since.

The Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.