The Committee to Protect Journalists joined eight local and regional organizations in calling on Cambodian authorities to release journalists Pheap Phara and Phon Sopheap and drop all charges against them.

The two were detained on July 31 after reporting on a Cambodia-Thailand border dispute and later charged under Section 445 of the criminal code, which covers treason and carries possible seven to 15-year prison sentences.

The letter states that using treason charges in response to the journalists’ news reporting undermines press freedom and the public’s right to information, and urges authorities to provide clear guidance for journalists reporting from conflict zones.

Read the full letter here.