The image was meant to send a stark message: criticise Hun Sen and you will be punished, even if you’re not in Cambodia.
Nuon Toeun appears front and centre in the photograph released by Cambodia authorities, handcuffed and flanked by armed guards outside a Phnom Penh prison.
Her crime? Making a social media post critical of the strongman leader who ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for decades before stepping down last year in favour of his son, Hun Manet.
If convicted, the 36-year-old Cambodian could face up to five years in prison and hefty fines for inciting social disorder.
Her extradition from Malaysia, revealed on October 3, has sparked outrage among human rights advocates, who question the decision to deport someone for simply voicing dissent against her own government.
“She did not criticise the Malaysian government, she only criticised her own,” said Charles Santiago, a former Malaysian lawmaker and co-chair of the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights.