Ny Nak holds a banner while marching with social and political activists in Phnom Penh in February 2023.

The Phnom Penh Capital Court convicted Ny Nak of incitement to discriminate and defamation today, sentencing him to two years in prison for comments he made on social media about the government giving away land in Kampot province to a man named Heng Sour.

The 44-year-old outspoken social commentator was sent to pre-trial detention on 6 January 2024 for a Facebook post in which he questioned the Cambodian government's decision to allocate 91 hectares of land to Heng Sour, who Nak identified as the current minister of labour. Labour Minister Heng Sour, who is the plaintiff in the case, filed a complaint, claiming he was not the Heng Sour to receive the land. In addition to his prison sentence, Nak was ordered to pay a 3 million riel fine (around $750) and an additional 200 million riel (around $50,000) in compensation to the minister.

Nak was previously convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for incitement and public insult in December 2020 for posting a satirical video on Facebook about placing his chicken coop in a state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic, in reference to speech made by then-Prime Minister Hun Sen. After his release he continued his social commentary, and in September 2023, Nak was brutally beaten by a group of four men in black uniforms and helmets, a crime that was never solved.