Cambodian Journalists in ‘Difficult Situation’ on Global Press Freedom Index

Reporters Without Borders has put Cambodia on a list of countries in a “difficult situation” in its annual Press Freedom Index.

Cambodia ranks No. 144 of 180 countries on the index, above China, Iran, Vietnam, Sudan and others.

Delphine Halgand, US director for the organization, told reporters in Washington that Cambodian journalists face arrest, persecution and murder, in an environment of impunity. No perpetrators have been brought to justice for the killings of dozens of Cambodian journalists since the 1990s, she noted.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan rejected the report. Journalists who have been killed in Cambodia recently have mixed their roles, as police, journalists and others, he said. “They are not real professional journalists,” he said.