Mam Sonando

In this Cambodian name, the surname is Mam. In accordance with Cambodian custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Sonando.

Mam Sonando
ម៉ម សូណង់ដូ
Sonando in May 2013.
Born (1942-02-13) 13 February 1942 (age 82)
Kampong Siem District, Kampong Cham, Cambodia, French Indochina
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.