Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians gathered to watch RFA Khmer Service’s broadcast of the funeral procession of Kem Ley, a prominent critic of the Cambodian government.
Ley was gunned down a day and a half after appearing on RFA to criticize Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family on their control of more than 100 companies. The government has not yet conducted a credible investigation into the crime.
RFA streamed the procession for 13.5 hours on Facebook, YouTube, and its own website. The Facebook Live videos of the Ley’s funeral were viewed over 1.3 million times. Despite the government’s attempt to suppress the coverage, people gathered at pagodas and in small groups to watch the stream. The videos also had over 600,000 reactions, comments, and shares.
The RFA’s coverage followed two weeks of reporting on Ley’s murder, his impact on Cambodian society, and the lack of a credible investigation into the crime.