Five Britons face up to a year in a Cambodian prison after police arrested them for "dancing pornographically" at a party.
Cambodian officials have charged a group of ten foreign tourists with "producing pornographic pictures" after images emerged of people apparently demonstrating different sex positions during a police raid on a rented villa.
Before appearing in court on Sunday, the Britons protested their innocence and said they were "trying to keep a good vibe".
The young men - several of whom had recently attended a popular pool party event called Let's Get Wet - said they had slept on the floor of a police station for three days, but "friendly" officers had bought them pizza.
Their arrests come after Cambodian authorities last year cracked down on tourists posting revealing images of themselves on social media.
Police said they had found people "singing and dancing pornographically" at the party in Siem Reap town near the Angkor Wat temple, a world heritage site.
It has been reported that police arrested 77 tourists who were taken to the local police headquarters to be “educated” on Thursday.
Most were released, but ten alleged "organisers" were held for 72 hours at the police station before appearing in court on Sunday, where they were put in pre-trial detention.
However, the five British nationals detained have proclaimed their innocence and said they were at a villa party barbeque on Thursday at 4pm when police began plucking people from the crowd.
In a joint statement from the prison, they said: "We're innocent. We don't know why we've been arrested - we're getting different stories from different people.
"It was really confusing. Everyone was confused. They raided, rounded us up - there was about 80 to 100 people at this party, some of them were tourists. There were about 30 of them [police officers.]
"Our parents are doing what they can. It's really just trying to keep a good vibe until we know the outcome."
Police released photographs of a party involving young adults simulating sexual positions at a party. Yet the people in the photos, which some claim were taken at a different event, do not appear in another police photo of the ten people detained, it was claimed. The authorities did not say who had taken the photographs or when.
One of the Britons, 21-year-old Billy Stevens is from Wadhurst in Kent. Photographs on his Facebook profile with tigers and on beaches suggest that he has been travelling for several months.
His mother, Marci Harbour, 47, on Sunday broke down in tears as she spoke of her fears for her son.
She said: “We’re all devastated by this. It’s dreadful. I’ve managed to speak to him but he’s had his phone taken off him now. They’re all in custody.
“We’ve been advised by not to say anything at the moment because obviously they’re out there and we don’t want to make it worse for them.
“There’s a lot of us parents on it and I’m in touch with them but it’s difficult. I’ve been told the more I say the deeper the problem could get and I’m not prepared to speak about it now.”
Another Briton, Vincent Hook, 35, attended Weymouth College, according to his Facebook profile. He is pictured DJing at a popular pool party event called Let's Get Wet in Siem Reap.The other British detainees have confirmed their identities as Daniel Jones, 30, from Essex, Thomas Alexander Jeffries, 22 and Paul Francis Harris, 32. At least three of the five men are pictured at the Let's Get Wet event.
The other five people arrested were two Canadians, one Norwegian, one New Zealander and one from the Netherlands. They said they were represented in court by a Cambodian lawyer.
It is illegal to produce pornographic films and pictures under Cambodia's 2007 Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.
The prosecutor said that after producing the photos, they then shared them on social media. Samrith Sokhon, prosecutor of the Siem Reap provincial court, said: "Any people producing pornography is contrary to Cambodia's traditions," he said.
The tourists face up to a year in prison and could spend six months in detention before the case goes to court, according to reports.
Police raided the party in Siem Reap, the town connected to Cambodia's famed ancient ruins of Angkor Wat temple.
The town, which tourists use as a base to travel to the ruins, has a number of hotels and late-night bars and clubs.
Angkor Wat was the capital of the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries, and remains an active spiritual and pilgrimage site for Buddhists.
It is the country's most popular tourist attraction and receives millions of visitors each year. However, authorities have started cracking down on tourists posting revealing images of themselves at the temple complex.
In 2016, Aspara Authority, which manages the temple complex, said that travellers with uncovered knees or shoulders would be asked to cover up before entering the site, after a spate of nude photography at temples caused outrage across the country.
Long Kosal, of Aspara, said at the time that “wearing revealing clothes disrespects the temple’s sanctity. We will not allow [tourists] to buy a temple pass if they wear revealing clothes. Our officials will inform them what they should wear to be able to visit our ancient temples, so they can come back to buy a ticket later after they change their clothes.”
Duong Thavry, chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department in Siem Reap, said that some of those arrested by police on Thursday were expats, while others were tourists who had been in Cambodia for several months.
Ms Thavry said: "We cracked down on them because they committed activities that are against our culture."
The Foreign Office said it is in contact with the British nationals in Cambodia and providing support for the families.
A spokesman added: "We are assisting five British men arrested in Cambodia and are providing support to their families."
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