British environmental journalist denied entry to Cambodia

BANGKOK — 

A writer who covers biology issues from Cambodia has been banned from entering the state wherever helium has been based for the past 5 years.

British newsman Gerry Flynn told VOA that migration officials denied his re-entry to Cambodia connected Jan. 5, erstwhile helium tried to instrumentality aft a abrogation successful Thailand.

The writer went nationalist with the incidental Monday.

“It’s not conscionable a nonrecreational blow, but precise personal, too,” Flynn told VOA by phone. “We’ve each seen successful the past 5 years, property state [has] deteriorated there.”

Flynn, 33, is unit writer astatine Mongabay, a quality website that reports connected biology issues worldwide. He has spent 5 years reporting from Siem Reap successful Cambodia’s northwest, covering biology and governance issues.

The archetypal motion of a imaginable occupation came connected January 2, erstwhile Flynn says helium was stopped astatine the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport anterior to departing Cambodia.

Authorities told Flynn that 1 of the documents successful his visa applications was fake. But, the newsman said, helium was allowed to embark connected his travel to sojourn Moo Deng, a babe endangered pygmy hippopotamus that has go a worldwide tourer attraction successful Thailand.

When helium returned 3 days later, Flynn said helium was questioned again.

“This clip they didn’t messiness around. They were conscionable consecutive distant saying that my visa had been acquired fraudulently. They couldn’t archer maine which papers was expected to beryllium incorrect oregon fake,” helium said. “The lone happening they would archer maine is that I’d been placed connected the blacklist connected November 25, 2024.”

Immigration officials told Flynn helium was banned indefinitely and would not beryllium capable to instrumentality to Cambodia. Denied entry, the writer traveled backmost to Thailand.

Flynn has a one-year Type E concern visa, valid done February 2025, and a valid enactment licence issued by Cambodia’s labour ministry. His property accreditation expired January 1, but helium had applied to renew the pass.

His quality outlet, Mongabay, has said that it believes the enactment is retaliatory.

Flynn precocious featured arsenic a contributor to a France24 documentary, “Real carbon, mendacious credits? Investigating wide deforestation successful Cambodia”.

The documentary focuses connected carbon-offset projects successful the Cardamom Mountains. After it aired connected November 22, Cambodia’s authorities labeled the findings "fake news.”

Two different contributors were detained a time aft it aired, but aboriginal released, according to Mongabay.

Neither Cambodia’s government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor its property communications part replied to VOA’s emails requesting comment.

Mongabay connected Monday said Cambodian authorities person not provided further accusation to Flynn astir his lawsuit oregon his options to appeal.

In a statement, Mongabay said that Cambodia claims Flynn had applied for a visa to enactment arsenic an electrician. But Mongabay said Flynn has “consistently held a valid government-issued property walk ... successful Cambodia.”

“For much than 5 years, Flynn has reported from Cambodia, and contempt the expanding hostility towards journalists, it’s a state that he’s grown to love,” the connection said. “As such, it’s some a nonrecreational and idiosyncratic stroke to beryllium uprooted from the state Flynn has called location successful what appears to beryllium nonstop retaliation for his journalistic work.”

International media watchdogs person condemned Cambodia’s action.

“The migration introduction prohibition connected writer Gerry Flynn shows conscionable however acold Cambodian authorities are consenting to spell to suppress autarkic reporting connected the country’s biology catastrophe,” Shawn Crispin, the elder Southeast Asia typical for the Committee to Protect Journalist, told VOA by email.

Crispin noted that Flynn has reported connected deforestation successful Cambodia, adding, “His exposure journalism nary uncertainty made radical successful almighty positions who nett from the amerciable commercialized precise uncomfortable.”

Phil Robertson, manager of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, told VOA, "Cambodia is moving overtime to hitch retired what's near of media state successful the country.”

Reporting oregon campaigning astir biology issues successful Cambodia tin beryllium risky.

Local writer Chhoeung Chheng died from his injuries aft being changeable successful Siem Reap state successful December portion investigating deforestation.

In July, 10 members of Cambodian biology activistic radical Mother Nature were sentenced from six to 8 years successful situation for conspiring against the state.

The radical had been investigating discarded contamination successful Phnom Penh’s Tonle Sap River. Mother Nature had campaigned against the demolition of earthy resources passim Cambodia and corruption.

Overall, Cambodia has a mediocre grounds for property freedom. It ranks 151 retired of 180 connected the World Press Freedom Index, wherever 1 shows the champion media scene.

Reporters Without Borders, which compiles the index, describes a “legacy of repression against the autarkic media.”

In November, an investigative writer who helped exposure the beingness of monolithic scam centers successful Cambodia announced that helium was quitting.

The journalist, Mech Dara, was detained for 30 days and charged with incitement, which carries a imaginable condemnation of up to 2 years successful prison.

Two different section reporters who investigated mistreatment of workers astatine a scam halfway were detained successful precocious January, according to watchdogs.

Flynn, who is the president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, said that until precocious Cambodia “refrained from going aft overseas journalists.”

“All journalists, whether overseas oregon Cambodian each look varying levels of harassment successful the field. I cognize immoderate who were arbitrarily detained portion working," helium said.

According to a quarterly reappraisal study from the Cambodian Journalist Alliance, much than a twelve journalists were legally oregon physically harassed betwixt July and September of 2024.

Reflecting connected his case, Flynn said, “I deliberation the biggest annoyance is it has eaten the full month, erstwhile successful world that period should person been spent continuing to study connected important issues successful Cambodia.”

“For maine it’s evidently a setback but it is not going to halt either myself oregon others from reporting connected issues related to the environment,” Flynn added. “I don’t deliberation silencing journalists is going to forestall radical from seeing the problems that are happening.”