their concerns over the Law’s efficacy. The state of the most frequently targeted. Prosecutions against Cambodia’s politics, according to signatories, would activists (52 people, or 31% of cases) were linked subjugate the envisioned Institution and strip it of to their views on the elections. A further 21% of the independence it requires to operate effectively. cases involved complaints against journalists (nine 141 people) after publishing or covering stories related to Lack of Anti-SLAPP and Whistleblowers Protection: A Challenge for Freedom of Speech corruption or sensitive issues. SLAPPs were initiated Despite the general protections provided under targeting several individuals simultaneously. A international treaties and the Cambodian Constitution, concrete example of this judicial repression is there is no specific legislation in Cambodia that the case of Mr Phat Horn, journalist for KH Plus explicitly protects activists and HRDs from harassment. News, who was summoned and questioned by the Individuals who face strategic lawsuits against Svay Rieng provincial police in September 2023 public participation (SLAPP) proceedings, which are following a live video denouncing irregularities in road regularly resorted to by the RGC to stifle activism, are construction. A complaint for “public defamation” rendered virtually powerless, given the absence of an lodged by the Svay Rieng provincial administration anti-SLAPP regime in the country. Additionally, there led to an interrogation before the provincial court is an absence of legal protection for whistleblowers on 26 September 2023.145 in every month of 2023, with a notable increase in July during the national elections, most of them issued by the government or the judiciary and frequently and basis for witness protection. As such, anyone who engages in online activism is vulnerable to government targeting not only when they are party to a SLAPP proceeding, but also when they supply information to authorities or testify in a case.142 In 2022, SLAPPs were used 37 times against 79 individuals, compared with 127 individuals targeted by SLAPPs in 2023, 53 of whom were convicted. 143 For example, Kong Bunrith, a Cambodian university student, claimed on Facebook in February 2020 that his fellow students had bribed officials to pass their exams. The authorities launched an investigation, but the Ministry of Justice chose to target Bunrith himself, accusing him of incitement, defamation and slander. Bunrith claimed that he had obtained the information from a confidential source and had simply wanted to alert the authorities. Under pressure and the threat of a prison sentence, Bunrith finally retracted his allegations in 2022.144 In 2023, there were 39 suspected cases of SLAPPs against 127 individuals. Political activists, journalists and members of landowning communities were Cambodia 61