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Cambodia’s Hun Sen orders shutdown of independent media outlet over news report about his son

  • Online outlet Voice of Democracy reported on February 9 that Hun Sen’s eldest son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had approved financial aid to Turkey
  • The outlet publishes and broadcasts in Khmer and English, and is frequently critical of Hun Sen and his government

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Hun Sen (front row, right) has also told foreign governments that funded the news outlet to transfer the money to other countries or back into their own coffers. Photo: Xinhua

Cambodia’s strongman leader ordered the shutdown of one of the country’s few remaining local independent media outlets on Sunday after taking issue with a news report about his son.

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One of the world’s longest-serving leaders, Prime Minister Hun Sen has increasingly cracked down on any opposition as he prepares for elections later this year.

Online outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) publishes and broadcasts in Khmer and English, and is frequently critical of Hun Sen and his government.

The premier said late Sunday that VOD would have its operating licence revoked, and must stop all broadcasting by 10am on Monday.

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Cambodia’s Hun Sen orders shutdown of independent media outlet over news report about his son

Cambodia’s Hun Sen orders shutdown of independent media outlet over news report about his son

The move followed a February 9 VOD report that Hun Sen’s eldest son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had approved financial aid to Turkey, which was struck by a devastating earthquake earlier this month.

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