Objective: To call for an intervention into the violent attack on VOD reporter Lay Samean by Daun Penh security forces on May 2, 2014
Regarding the above request, the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) would like to inform that:
During a crackdown on a march by CNRP supporters on Friday, May 5, 2014, Khan Daun Penh security guards brutally assaulted Voice of Democracy journalist Lay Samean as he attempted to document newsworthy events near Freedom Park.
During the attack, Samean was kicked and beaten on his head, face, abdomen and hands to the extent that he lost consciousness. Following the attack, the security guards left Samean lying unconscious in the street and confiscated his Samsung Galaxy Grand smartphone. Samean was wearing a press identity card at the time of the attack.
This and other recent acts of violence against journalists by the Khan Daun Penh security guards flies in the face of the Cambodian Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of expression. In a statement released on May 4, the Minister of Information Khieu Khanarith directly condemned these acts as “a serious violation of press freedom.” The statement by the ministry explicitly included seizure of journalists’ property among the behaviors it deems to be in violation of reporters’ rights.
The Cambodian Center for Independent Media requests that Phnom Penh City Hall (1) take immediate steps to ensure Khan Daun Penh security forces abstain from further attacks on journalists, (2) intervene to demand official apologies be made to the journalists who have already been attacked including the VOD reporter (3) order Daun Penh district to return Samsung Galaxy Grand smartphone confiscated from Samean by district security forces.
I hope these first steps will signify a renewed commitment on behalf of the City of Phnom Penh to uphold its peoples’ rights to free expression and a free press.
Sincerely,
Phnom Penh, May 16, 2014
Pa Ngoun Teang
CCIM Executive Director
