WASHINGTON – Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia, made the following statement today in response to the release of former RFA Khmer Service journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin on bail in Phnom Penh.
We welcome their release, but we must also recognize that these former journalists should never have been put in this predicament in the first place. Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin have been jailed for more than eight months, living in abhorrent conditions, without their families, without adequate medical care, without an income, and, for too long, without hope. The targeting and intimidation of anyone who has worked as an independent journalist in Cambodia is a clear violation of press freedom. With today’s development, we hope all charges against them are dropped and their case is immediately dismissed.
