Phnom Penh - The UN's human rights office in Cambodia Wednesday appealed to the judiciary to respect the country's national and international obligations on freedom of speech, saying that a recent spate of lawsuits risks stifling public debate.

Cambodia's courts have found against three defendants in recent weeks, and fined or jailed them for disinformation or defamation.

Human rights groups have complained that the cases, which were brought by the government against perceived critics, are politically motivated.

'Under international law, freedom of expression is to be restricted only in exceptional cases, where clearly necessary and proportionate to the value that the restriction seeks to protect,' the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.