Mam Sonando

Mam Sonando
ម៉ម សូណង់ដូ
Sonando in May 2013.
Born (1942-02-13) 13 February 1942 (age 82)
Citizenship
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • politician
Years active1993–present
OrganizationBeehive Radio
Known forindependent journalism; 2003, 2005, and 2012 arrests
Political partyBeehive Social Democratic Party (2015–present)
SpouseDen Phanara
Parent(s)Mam Soth
Eam Ouch

Mam Sonando (Khmer: ម៉ម សូណង់ដូ; born 13 February 1942)[1] is a Cambodian radio journalist and politician with French dual citizenship.[2] He is the owner and director of Phnom Penh's Beehive Radio, which the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) described in 2012 as "one of Cambodia's few independent news outlets".[3] He also acts as a political commentator for the station.

Sonando has been imprisoned three times on charges related to his reporting: a 2003 arrest for "inciting riots", a 2005 arrest for defamation, and a 2012 arrest for insurrection.[4] His twenty-year prison sentence for the latter was protested by human rights groups, and US President Barack Obama expressed concerns about the case in a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen. The sentence was overturned by an appeals court in March 2013, and Sonando was instead given a five-year suspended sentence on charges of causing civil unrest.

  1. ^ "Mam Sonando's Biography and Activities". Beehive Radio. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference OMCT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Cambodian court sentences journalist to 20 years". Committee to Protect Journalists. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Cambodian broadcaster detained on insurrection charges". The Committee to Protect Journalists. 17 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2012.