About Me

Sebastian Strangio is a freelance foreign correspondent based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since 2008, he has reported widely on politics, human rights, business and environmental issues from across the Asia-Pacific.
Articles
Cambodia's Jazz Age

Cambodia’s Jazz Age

Excess is the watchword of the ‘Khmer Riche’, writes Sebastian Strangio
Notorious Khmer Rouge jailer gets life sentence

Notorious Khmer Rouge jailer gets life sentence

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, and NEW DELHI – A court in Cambodia on Friday rejected an appeal by a notorious Khmer Rouge jailer and extended his prison sentence to life in a decision welcomed by many in the war-torn country. Kang Kek Ieu, known as Kaing Guek Eav in tribunal filings but more often referred to...
Economy Key to Burma’s Democracy

Economy Key to Burma’s Democracy

Signs that Burma’s economy is opening aren’t just good news for Western firms hoping to make some money – democracy in the country could depend on it.
Hope, Anxiety, and Life in a Changing Burma

Hope, Anxiety, and Life in a Changing Burma

Scenes from a country in a slow-motion and still uncertain revolution
Paper tigers

Paper tigers

Myanmar may be opening to democracy, but just how free is the country’s notoriously closed media?
Is Microfinance Pushing the World’s Poorest Even Deeper Into Poverty?

Is Microfinance Pushing the World’s Poorest Even Deeper Into Poverty?

DHAKA—In August, Bangladeshi police broke up a ring of human organ dealers operating in Joypurhat, a district in the north of the country.
Cambodia: prison labor concerns

Cambodia: prison labor concerns

A new law legalizes the use of prison labor by private companies, putting Cambodia’s “sweatshop-free” reputation on the line.
Beyond Bazaar

Beyond Bazaar

Protecting the buildings of bygone eras is no easy task in rapidly changing Old Dhaka.
Khmer Rouge No. 2 gives insight to his role in Cambodia's 'killing fields'

Khmer Rouge No. 2 gives insight to his role in Cambodia’s ‘killing fields’

Nuon Chea, the deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge regime blamed for 1.7 million deaths in Cambodia’s ‘killing fields’ told the tribunal today that he carried out its policies to protect the country.
Khmer Rouge trial opens in Cambodia amid claims of interference

Khmer Rouge trial opens in Cambodia amid claims of interference

Critics say political interference and judicial misconduct are tarnishing the UN-backed Khmer Rouge trial, seen as key to justice more than 30 years after the brutal regime was ousted.
From tragedy to sham in Cambodia

From tragedy to sham in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH – Cambodia’s United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal will finally begin hearings on Monday in its second case against senior surviving leaders of the former communist Khmer Rouge regime.
In Bangladesh, some kind of justice

In Bangladesh, some kind of justice

After four decades, the country’s war-crimes tribunal is finally set to open.