Amnesty International has accused the Cambodian government of turning a blind eye to serious human rights violations committed by cybercrime networks operating across the country, where trafficked individuals are reportedly held captive and forced to perpetrate online scams under brutal conditions.

In a report published Thursday, the London-based human rights group detailed how criminal syndicates have trafficked people — including children — from around the world into fortified compounds in Cambodia, where they are imprisoned and coerced into conducting internet fraud. Many of the victims are lured with false job offers and then subjected to forced labor in what Amnesty described as “prison-like conditions.”

The report identifies at least 53 confirmed scam centers, with dozens more suspected, including operations in Phnom Penh. These compounds are often surrounded by barbed wire fencing, patrolled by armed guards, and controlled by the very victims they have trafficked — now forced to defraud others under threat of violence.

Those who attempted to escape or disobey orders were punished with electric shocks, beatings, or solitary confinement in dark, locked rooms, according to survivor testimonies cited by Amnesty.

The organization condemned what it called a “systemic pattern of state failure,” alleging that Cambodian authorities have consistently failed to investigate abuses, prosecute perpetrators beyond minor charges, or provide support to victims. It also criticized the government for failing to regulate private security forces and for allowing the use of torture devices inside these compounds.

“Deceived, trafficked, and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare — criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard.

Amnesty said Cambodian officials have not responded meaningfully to its findings or its list of identified scam centers. The country’s National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking reportedly offered only vague intervention statistics, without any substantive data on prosecutions related to human rights violations.

The report calls for urgent international pressure and an independent investigation into Cambodia’s role in enabling these abuses, warning that the unchecked growth of the cyber scam industry poses a global threat to human rights and rule of law.