The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court/independent adviser) brief before the Supreme Court of Cambodia, urging the Court to consider international and regional human rights standards on freedom of expression and media freedom in the context of criminal sanctions on journalists.
The brief was filed on 17 June 2026, in advance of a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for 19 June 2026, to assist the Court in its determination of an appeal case concerning two journalists, Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara, who were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment after sharing photographs on social media.
Background to the case
Phorn Sopheap and Pheap Pheara were arrested in July 2025 after publishing photographs of the Cambodian military and unexploded landmines taken near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border. The journalists were prosecuted under Article 445 of the Cambodian Criminal Code for allegedly 'supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence'.
Following conviction before the Siem Reap Provincial Court, the verdict was upheld by the Battambang Appeal Court in March 2026. The case now comes before Cambodia's highest court.
IBAHRI submission focuses on limits of national security restrictions
The IBAHRI's amicus curiae brief underscores the obligations on Cambodia to protect media freedom under international human rights law.
The IBAHRI highlights that restrictions on expression justified by national security concerns must remain exceptional and narrowly tailored. Under international standards, authorities must be able to demonstrate a specific and serious threat to national security directly linked to the expression in question.
The amicus curiae brief further emphasises that criminal sanctions against journalists require the highest level of scrutiny and should not be imposed for legitimate journalistic activity.
Concerns over disproportionate criminal sanctions
The IBAHRI asserts that international human rights law requires states to exercise substantial restraint when considering criminal penalties in cases involving journalism and public-interest reporting.
The amicus curiae brief notes that even in the most extreme circumstances, including cases involving incitement, courts should impose the least restrictive possible criminal measure and ensure that any limitation on freedom of expression meets the tests of legality, necessity and proportionality.
IBAHRI calls for international standards to guide the Court's review
The IBAHRI hopes that the Supreme Court of Cambodia will find the amicus curiae brief valuable and will re-examine the case based on Cambodia's obligations under international human rights law.
