Cambodia Arrests Journalist Known for Exposing Scam Centers

The authorities in Cambodia brought an incitement charge on Tuesday against a journalist known for his work on exposing human trafficking in online scam compounds, less than a month after the United States punished a powerful Cambodian businessman over what it said was his role in the criminal enterprise.

Mech Dara, 36, was sent to pretrial detention on the charge of “incitement to provoke serious social chaos” related to a series of social media posts in September, Y Rin, a spokesman for a court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, told local media outlets.

The charge carries a maximum jail term of two years. On Monday, Mr. Mech Dara was arrested by military police officers at the request of civilian prosecutors, said Eng Hy, a spokesman for Cambodia’s military police.

Mr. Mech Dara has reported extensively on Cambodia’s scam compounds — where thousands of people have been lured by the promise of legitimate jobs only to be forced under the threat of torture to cheat people online. He has documented links between them and Ly Yong Phat, a tycoon who is also a senator and a personal adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet.

In September, the United States issued sanctions against Mr. Ly Yong Phat for “serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers.”

Cambodia’s foreign ministry has rejected the accusations, saying the sanctions were “politically motivated.”