ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
A prominent reporter in Cambodia has been detained and charged with incitement. The U.S. and other countries are calling for his release in a country where almost all independent media outlets have been shuttered in recent years. Michael Sullivan reports from neighboring Thailand.
MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Last year, Mech Dara was standing on a stage at the State Department, accepting a hero award for his work exposing human trafficking at cyber scam centers in Cambodia. Today, he sits in prison in Kandal Province, plucked from his car on a family outing on September 30, detained, authorities say, for sharing social media posts with the, quote, "intent to provoke people and confuse them."
SOPHAL EAR: The accusation is a classic example of authoritarian regimes criminalizing free speech under the guise of protecting national stability.
SULLIVAN: Sophal Ear is an associate professor at Arizona State University.
EAR: It's an exaggerated response meant to intimidate others who might speak out. Mech Dara is a symbol, and by detaining him, the government is sending a message that no one, no matter how prominent, is safe from retaliation.
SULLIVAN: Mech Dara got a start in journalism nearly two decades ago volunteering at The Cambodia Daily, stacking newspapers, doing odd jobs, a teenager who didn't know much about journalism except that he wanted in. Prak Chan Thul is editor of the online Kiri Post who worked with him at The Daily.
PRAK CHAN THUL: He came - I think he was, like, 15, 17, I think, and he did not get hired right away. It was a difficult journey for him. But he stayed, and he did not give up. He did not stop, and he pushed himself to become a journalist.
SULLIVAN: He was detained just weeks after the U.S. government sanctioned a prominent Cambodian tycoon for human rights abuses related to the treatment of workers at online scam operations. Again, Prak Chan Thul.
PRAK: We need someone like him that can go out and report the truth. You need someone or people to reveal the scale of the online scams, who is involved. So only independent journalists can do this.
SULLIVAN: Mech Dara's sister, Mech Choulay, says things have been hard for the family since his arrest. But she says her brother knew the risks, having run afoul of the authorities before.
MECH CHOULAY: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "We're proud of him as a famous journalist, but we always worry, too," she says. "Sometimes, my mom would tell him, don't take so many risks. But my brother said he has to die someday, and until that day comes, he told her, he just wants to do something for our country and our society." He faces up to two years if convicted. No court date has been set. For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Bangkok.
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