International concern is growing over the arrest of a prominent Cambodian journalist who helped expose human trafficking fueling online scam centers, with several governments and rights groups calling for his immediate release.

Cambodian military police said on Tuesday they have arrested an award-winning reporter known for investigating local corruption, trafficking and online scam centres, prompting concern from a prominent human rights group and the United States.

A Cambodian reporter who exposed online scams and corruption was charged with a criminal offense that could land him in prison for two years for material he posted on social media.

Cambodian authorities have arrested and charged an award-winning journalist in apparent reprisal for his investigative journalism, Human Rights Watch said today. Mech Dara, 36, had recently reported on human trafficking and cybercrime that was critical of the government’s role.

PHNOM PENH; The arrest of Cambodian journalist Mech Dara in late September has raised concerns about press freedom, but the Ministry of Information has defended the move, stating that the charges against him are legal and unrelated to his journalism.

The charge of incitement came after the United States punished a tycoon for what it said was his role in the scam compounds.

A Cambodian court on Tuesday charged an investigative reporter known for exposing corruption and human trafficking, and whose arrest drew concern from rights groups and the U.S. government, with "inciting social unrest",

Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist who has reported extensively on human trafficking and corruption, has been arrested and charged with incitement. Dara, who has reported for the BBC, has been charged over five social media posts which could "incite social unrest",