PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) 鈥� Cambodia's Interior Ministry confirmed Wednesday it had blocked a British journalist known for his reporting on human rights abuses and environmental issues, an incident that comes amid growing concerns over press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation.
Gerald Flynn, a reporter with U.S.鈥攂ased conservation news website Mongabay, was denied reentry into the country over problems with his visa after a brief trip to neighboring Thailand in January, said Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak.
He said Flynn claimed to be an electrician on his original visa application but instead worked as a journalist.
鈥淗e cheated Cambodia,鈥� Sokhak said.
But Flynn called the claim 鈥渂izarre," noting that the blacklisting came only days after he had been featured as a source in a France24 documentary scrutinizing Cambodia's carbon offsetting projects.
鈥淚 have only ever worked as a journalist in Cambodia and have always represented myself as such to the government,鈥� Flynn said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
鈥淭he lack of believable explanation or evidence from the government, coupled with the timing of my blacklisting, suggests I was denied entry to Cambodia as a result of my investigative journalism, which has often tied powerful elites to environmental destruction.鈥�
In a this week, Mongabay said Flynn had been a journalist in Cambodia for five years and had always represented himself as such.
鈥淗e has consistently held a valid government-issued press pass during his five years,鈥� the publication said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who in 2023 succeeded his father Hun Sen after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule, has shown few signs of political liberalization, .
In September, award-winning reporter was arrested, and quickly convicted, on charges of incitement following reports he published exposing online scams and corruption.
At the time, the U.S. State Department said it was 鈥渄eeply troubled鈥� by his arrest, and about four dozen Cambodian media organizations and civil society groups issued a calling for his immediate release and to 鈥渟top all forms of harassment against media organizations and journalists.鈥�
In December, another journalist, Chhoeung Chheng, was shot and killed while reporting on the transport of illegally cut timber in Siem Reap province.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the slaying showed the 鈥済rave danger environmental reporters face in Cambodia鈥� and called for the government to do more to protect them.
The Foreign Correspondents鈥� Club of Thailand said it was 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� about the blacklisting of Flynn, who served as president of the Overseas Press Club in Cambodia.
鈥淭his is another nail in the coffin of the free press in Cambodia, which has seen local and foreign journalists severely intimidated in recent years and numerous news organizations driven out of business.鈥�
David Rising And Sopheng Cheang, The Associated Press
