CAMBODIA’S Supreme Court today upheld the treason conviction and 14-year prison sentence of two journalists who posted photographs on Facebook last year related to border clashes with Thailand.

The decision has sparked new accusations from rights groups that Prime Minister Hun Manet’s government is influencing the courts to quash press freedoms.

The high court ruled that the convictions of Phorn Sopheap of Battambang Post TV Online and Pheap Pheara of TSP 68 TV Online were firmly grounded in Cambodian law, said Kang Pothe Vireak, one of the defence team.

“The bogus prosecution and draconian prison sentences handed down to these two journalists shows the Cambodian authorities’ disdain for media freedom,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

“By criminalising journalism and jailing reporters, Hun Manet’s government is restricting independent sources of information for the Cambodian people and hampering the ability of journalists to tell stories about Cambodia to the world.”

Cambodia’s Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra defended the decision, saying the court had reached an independent decision based upon the law, which he said “protects journalism while also safeguarding national security, political stability and national defence.”

He said that “freedom of expression is a protected constitutional right, but it is not unlimited, nor does it provide immunity from criminal liability.”