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A high-profile Cambodian reporter who won an international award for exposing alleged cyber frauds told AFP on Tuesday that he had quit journalism and lost “courage” after being arrested by authorities and released on bail.

Police arrested Mech Dara on September 30 on charges of inciting social unrest, sparking condemnation from around the world.

He was released on bail three weeks after Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and his son apologized to Prime Minister Hun Manet in a video taken while he was in prison.

“I decided to quit journalism because of the arrest, interrogation and prison sentence,” Dara told AFP. he said.

“I’m still scared,” he said, adding that authorities used excessive force during his arrest, then interrogated him all night.

“I lost my courage. It attacked my soul and I no longer have courage,” Dara said, referring to his arrest and time spent in prison.

He also requested the court to drop the charges against him.

Hun Manet published photos of him meeting Dara on Monday; one of them shows the couple hugging each other.

Dara said that he informed Hun Manet of his decision to quit journalism at the meeting that took place one day after his release.

Police detained 36-year-old Dara after stopping a car carrying him and his family in Sihanoukville, a coastal city where several suspected cyber fraud operations have taken place.

His reporting was featured in various international news outlets and he worked for the independent Voice of Democracy in Cambodia before authorities shut it down in February 2023.

Dara has since used social media platforms to share news content, particularly regarding the proliferation of “scam farms” (criminal operations that defraud victims of large amounts of money online and fuel human trafficking across the region).

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year awarded Dara a Hero Award, recognizing efforts against human trafficking for investigations into exploitation on online scam sites.

The award praised her “courageous reporting on forcible criminal human trafficking” and was said to have led to the government improving its response to the problem.

His arrest came a day after he posted a photo on social media showing a tourist site being demolished to make way for a quarry, according to the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association.

Local authorities labeled the deleted footage as “fake news” and called for Dara to be punished for publishing the footage.

After announcing the charges against Dara, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court accused him of posting messages on social media platforms designed to “ignite anger (and) make people misunderstand the leadership of the Cambodian government.”

The charge of sedition is frequently used by Cambodian authorities against activists, and Dara could face up to two years in prison if convicted.

Cambodia ranks near the bottom of international press freedom rankings, and human rights groups have long accused the government of using legal cases as a tool to silence dissenting voices.