Cambodia: 'Every newsroom I work in gets silenced'

[Social Media]

When journalist Mech Dara found out he was losing his job on Sunday, he had a sense of deja vu.

VOD, or Voice of Democracy, is the third independent Cambodian newsroom Dara has worked for to have been silenced - in one form or another - in the past six years.

The Khmer and English language outlet was seen as one of the last frontiers of free press in the country - until Cambodian leader Hun Sen ordered its closure after declaring it had published a story that "hurt" his government's reputation.

A 9 February report on Cambodia's aid response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria said a $100,000 (£83,000) package had been signed off by Hun Sen's elder son, Hun Manet, an army commander and possible successor. Hun Sen said VOD had crossed a line because foreign aid packages can only be signed off by the prime minister.