The detention of a Cambodian journalist needs more than 'statements'

Jacob Sims is a columnist for The Diplomat and a founding partner at #OperationShamrock, a global public-private coalition working to disrupt Southeast Asia's organized cybercrime epidemic.

Autocratic repression in Cambodia as elsewhere is, all too often, a silent crime. The overwhelming majority of people muzzled by repressive governments across the region never see their cases raised. Their families huddle in fear, praying the hammer doesn't drop even farther, though often it does. Occasionally, the volume gets elevated somewhat, generating minor hand-wringing amongst the state's partners and observers. But, every so often, the oppression is so overt, so poignant, or the victim prominent enough that a larger movement arises in an effort to right the wrong.