The Battambang provincial court upheld its earlier decision which convicted an online TV publisher for defamation under Article 305 of the Penal Code on May 9, 2024.
Sem Bora, publisher of TNM, was sentenced in absentia on December 27, 2023 and ordered to pay a fine of 4,000,000 riel ($1,000) but the court verdict was only announced on January 11, 2024.
Bora rejected the decision and sought for a retrial, which was heard again by the same court on April 25, 2024. However, the decision was upheld on May 9.
Bora was sued by Battambang province’s Ek Phnom district governor, Mil Sophal, for defamation after reporting on a land dispute on October 25, 2022.
Speaking to CamboJA News, Bora expressed disappointment that the court did not use the press law on journalists, who have a duty to highlight issues to people, including leaders.
“I would like to ask the government to look at the legal system, so that they [the court] would not just use their discretion to block journalists from reporting the truth,” said.