The Cambodian government has banned a British journalist from entering the country in a move press groups condemned as an attack on independent media.
Gerald Flynn, 33, who writes for Mongabay, was stopped from entering Cambodia at the Siem Reap International Airport on 5 January, the publication said.
The journalist was returning from a holiday in Thailand when he was denied entry and forced on a plane back to Bangkok.
Immigration officials told Mr Flynn that he was permanently banned from Cambodia due to an “error on a document submitted as part of his last visa extension application", Mongabay said, adding that he held a valid work permit as well as a 12-month extension to his multiple-entry business visa issued on 6 February 2024.
The journalist was also shown immigration documents indicating that he had been added to Cambodia's blacklist on 25 November. Mr Flynn was blacklisted days after a France24 documentary critical of the Cambodian carbon offsetting efforts was aired in which he was interviewed.
The country’s environment ministry and the project proponent Wildlife Alliance dismissed the documentary and accused the French broadcaster without evidence of “using old images” to mislead the public, according to the publication.
The immigration office reportedly claimed Mr Flynn had applied for a visa to work as an electrician despite having worked as a journalist for more than five years in Cambodia.
"Sad to confirm that I was denied re-entry to Cambodia on Jan 5 and, a month later, it’s no clearer as to whether I can return, but it does seem to be retaliation for my journalistic work," Mr Flynn wrote on X.
Mr Flynn, who had been working in Cambodia since 2019, told the Guardian the situation for the media had deteriorated in the last five years. “We’ve seen more arrests, more lawsuits, more harassment, both physical and online. We’ve even had journalists killed,” he said.
“The government’s intolerance towards anything that they deem critical has made it very risky for all journalists in Cambodia to continue operating.”
Human Rights Watch said the ban on Mr Flynn was a "blatant attack" on journalism and served as another example of the Cambodian government’s "intolerance of critical and investigative journalism".
Media watchdog RSF joined press groups in condemning the incident. Mr Flynn was targeted in retaliation for his reporting on environmental issues, Cédric Alviani, director of the Paris-based group, said.
The media watchdog ranked Cambodia 151st out of 180 countries on its latest international press freedom index.
Press freedom is routinely curtailed in Cambodia through arbitrary arrests of journalists and environmental activists.
Journalist Chhoeung Chheng was shot dead by an assailant last December while reporting on the transport of alleged illegally cut timber in the Boeung Per Wildlife Sanctuary.
In November, six prominent environmental activists were detained for three days and questioned while investigating an illicit timber trafficking network in Stung Treng province that Mr Flynn had reported on for Mongabay, Human Rights Watch said.
Another Cambodian journalist, Mech Dara, was accused of disseminating fake news and detained on charges of incitement.
