Cambodia’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld 14-year prison sentences for two journalists convicted of treason for posting a photo taken in a military-restricted area after border clashes with Thailand.
Pheap Phara and Phorn Sopheap were arrested in July last year after posting a photo on Facebook that appeared to show them with Cambodian soldiers at the centuries-old Ta Krabei temple, located on the disputed frontier with Thailand.
The temple, known as Ta Kwai in Thailand, sustained heavy damage during last year’s clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops around Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin province.
Thai media outlets later republished the image, alleging that it showed unplaced landmines in the background.
Prosecutors said the two journalists, who worked for the local news outlet TSP 68 TV Online, were guilty of producing content that revealed Cambodia’s military positions and strategies.
The duo were convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison in December for “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence”.
An appeal court upheld their convictions in March, so they made a final appeal to the country’s highest court.
“The court has decided to uphold the ruling of the appeal court,” Taing Sunlay, deputy chief of the Supreme Court, said on Thursday.
Am Sam Ath, operations director of the human rights group Lichado, told AFP that the convictions could “affect press freedom”.
Cambodia ranks 151st out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders advocacy group’s World Press Freedom Index.
The journalists’ lawyer could not be reached immediately for comment.
Thailand has repeatedly accused Cambodia of planting new landmines in contested border areas that have wounded patrolling Thai soldiers, while Cambodia has denied the allegations.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in late December, but tensions persist, and border crossings have still not been reopened.
