According to local news outlet CamboJA, authorities accused Mech Dahl of inciting social security violations in a series of social media posts. He was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention at Kandal Provincial Prison. While traveling with his family, Dar was reportedly stopped by six police cars and arrested on a warrant. Charges were unknown at the time.
September 29, Dara posted an image of a pagoda in Ba Phnom that had been damaged during quarrying. Local authorities said the photos were meant to incite social unrest, while pro-government media outlets called his post fake news.
The photo has now been removed.
A Google Maps street view of the stairs leading to the stupa taken by Dara. Dara managed to inform the human rights organization Likadho of his arrest before his #cell phone was confiscated. Nari Pilog, co-director of Likadho, said, Dara should be released and be able to continue his work shedding light on issues such as human trafficking, forced labor and corruption.
Last year, the U. S. Secretary of State gave Me Dara a hero award for his coverage of fraudulent connections in the region (in 2022, it was reported that Cambodia's fraud industry enslaved up to 100,000 migrant workers).
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