Independent radio station in Cambodia shut down on order of prime minister

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered independent radio station Voice of Democracy to shut down for publishing an article he said slandered his son (Heng Sinith/AP)

One of Cambodia’s last free media outlets, Voice of Democracy radio, ceased operations on Monday after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered its closure for allegedly slandering his son.

The story, which was also published on the website of VoD, as the station is better known, claimed that Hun Sen’s son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had signed a donation on his father’s behalf of 100,000 US dollars (almost £83,000) for Turkey earthquake relief aid.