MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Hundreds of Cambodian reporters carry out professional investigations with the primary goal of blackmailing lawbreakers instead of publishing the results, Al Jazeera said Friday.
The broadcaster has launched an inquiry into the matter as part of its weekly television program “101 East.”
Just 20 Cambodian newspapers out of some 400 registered are published regularly, Al Jazeera said. Blackmailing by journalists is most widespread in distant areas of the country with severe lack of law enforcement control.
At the same time many Cambodian journalists who dare publishing their investigations end up being abused or even murdered.
In 2014, the Cambodian government rejected 38 out of 206 recommendations on human rights suggested by the United Nations. The rejected points included amendments of the country's Press Law and guaranteeing the independence of the media, according to the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
