Trial of Cambodian reporters who used to work for US begins

The espionage trial of two Cambodian journalists who formerly worked for a U.S. government-funded radio station began Friday, almost two years after their arrests.

Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin appeared at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to defend themselves against the charge that they had undermined national security by supplying information to a foreign state, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Rights groups have characterized their case as a flagrant attack on press freedom.

The pair, who had already left their jobs with Radio Free Asia, were arrested in November 2017 during a crackdown on the media and political opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, ahead of the July 2018 general election.

Radio Free Asia had closed its Phnom Penh bureau in September 2017, citing government intimidation of the media, which it said had reached an "unprecedented level."
Radio Free Asia is funded by an independent U.S. government agency, and says its mission is "to provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press."
Rohit Mohajan, a spokesman for Radio Free Asia, said in an email that the two face "unsubstantiated charges, which never should have been brought forward in the first place."