human rights defender
human rights defender
1979
Man
Urban
Released
Ny Nak was born in September 1979 in Pon commune, Sangke district, Battambang Province. He is an outspoken commentator on social media mainly Facebook, he manages one of his pages named ''Iman-KH'' in which he actively shares his activities and techniques on doing agriculture, and often expresses his opinions on social media on related social issues when he sees injustice. On December 17, 2023, Mr. Ny Nak posted on his Facebook account to express his opinion on the land concession case involving Mr. Heng Sour. He mistakenly believed that the recipient of the land concession was Mr. Heng Sour, the Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT). In his post, he questioned, “What achievements has Heng Sour done for the Khmer nation, that the government gave him forest land as his personal property? RIP Khmer forests.” This post was related to a previous one he made on December 12, 2023, both addressing the land concession issue. Mr. Ny Nak continued to discuss the land concession on his media platform even after Mr. Katta Orn, the spokesperson for the MLVT, clarified to local media that the Heng Sour who received the land concession was not the Minister of the MLVT. Mr. Katta Orn had made this clarification before Mr. Ny Nak’s second post on December 17, 2023. He also requested that media outlets correct any incorrect coverage of the issue, emphasizing that the Heng Sour in question was a different individual with the same name as the Minister of MLVT
Jan 6, 2024
Jan 5, 2026
Two years’ imprisonment and a fine of three million riels on charges of “defamation” and “incitement to discrimination” under Articles 305, 494, and 496 of the Cambodian Criminal Code.
Latitude: 11.91824418705804
Longitude: 105.6180325123829
Tboung Kmum
Correctional Center 3 in Tboung Kmum province
Mr. Ny Nak was sentenced in November 2024 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of three million riels on charges of “defamation” and “incitement to discrimination” under Articles 305, 494, and 496 of the Cambodian Criminal Code. The Court also ordered him to pay 200 million riels (approximately USD 50,000) in compensation to the civil plaintiff. The charges stemmed from a post on his Facebook page, Iman-Kh, in which he criticized a land concession granted to an individual named Heng Sour, whom Mr. Ny Nak believed to be the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training. The conviction was upheld by the Phnom Penh Court of Appeal on 27 May 2025, and was upheld by Supreme Court on 30 December 2025. Mr. Ny Nak was released on 5 January 2026, after completed his two-year prison sentence.
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Ny Nak was born in September 1979 in Pon commune, Sangke district, Battambang Province. He is an outspoken commentator on social media mainly Facebook, he manages one of his pages named ''Iman-KH'' in which he actively shares his activities and techniques on doing agriculture, and often expresses his opinions on social media on related social issues when he sees injustice. On December 17, 2023, Mr. Ny Nak posted on his Facebook account to express his opinion on the land concession case involving Mr. Heng Sour. He mistakenly believed that the recipient of the land concession was Mr. Heng Sour, the Minister of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT). In his post, he questioned, “What achievements has Heng Sour done for the Khmer nation, that the government gave him forest land as his personal property? RIP Khmer forests.” This post was related to a previous one he made on December 12, 2023, both addressing the land concession issue. Mr. Ny Nak continued to discuss the land concession on his media platform even after Mr. Katta Orn, the spokesperson for the MLVT, clarified to local media that the Heng Sour who received the land concession was not the Minister of the MLVT. Mr. Katta Orn had made this clarification before Mr. Ny Nak’s second post on December 17, 2023. He also requested that media outlets correct any incorrect coverage of the issue, emphasizing that the Heng Sour in question was a different individual with the same name as the Minister of MLVT
Latitude: 11.91824418705804
Longitude: 105.6180325123829
Two years’ imprisonment and a fine of three million riels on charges of “defamation” and “incitement to discrimination” under Articles 305, 494, and 496 of the Cambodian Criminal Code.
Mr. Ny Nak was sentenced in November 2024 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of three million riels on charges of “defamation” and “incitement to discrimination” under Articles 305, 494, and 496 of the Cambodian Criminal Code. The Court also ordered him to pay 200 million riels (approximately USD 50,000) in compensation to the civil plaintiff. The charges stemmed from a post on his Facebook page, Iman-Kh, in which he criticized a land concession granted to an individual named Heng Sour, whom Mr. Ny Nak believed to be the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training. The conviction was upheld by the Phnom Penh Court of Appeal on 27 May 2025, and was upheld by Supreme Court on 30 December 2025. Mr. Ny Nak was released on 5 January 2026, after completed his two-year prison sentence.