Informed Crypto News
Cambodian crypto camp reporter jailed over Facebook, X posts
Headline, Cambodian crypto camp reporter, jailed over Facebook, ex-posts published at 2.47 p.m., October 1, 2024, on protos.com. An award-winning investigative journalist who has reported on human trafficking and crypto scam centers in Cambodia was arrested by the country's State Military Police on Monday. Authorities charged Makdara with "insitement to disturb social security" over a series of social media posts, according to the local news outlet, "Kamboja." He was subsequently placed in pretrial detention at Candle Provincial Prison. Dara was reportedly stopped at a toll booth by six police cars and arrested under a warrant while traveling with his family. At the time, his charges were unknown. On September 29, Dara shared images of a pagoda in Baffnam that was damaged by quarry work. Local authorities reportedly claimed the posts were inciting social disorder while a government-aligned news outlet called his posts "fake news." The photos are now deleted. Dara was able to inform the human rights group Locado of his arrest before his phone was confiscated. Locado's co-director Nali Pallurge said, "Dara must be freed so he can continue his work to shed light on issues like human trafficking, forced labor and corruption." Last year, the U.S. Secretary of State presented Makdara with a hero award for his coverage of scam compounds in the region. In 2022, it was reported that the Cambodia scam industry enslaved up to 100,000 migrant workers. More recently, the U.S. imposed sanctions on a Cambodian politician Lai Yang fat this month for their role in serious human rights abuses, related to the treatment of workers subjected to forced labor in online investment scam operations. This recording was AI-generated. Get more crypto news at Protos.com.