Cambodian opposition leader sentenced to 27 years in prison for treason
A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27 years in prison for treason, in a case that rights groups say is politically motivated.
Kem Sokha was the co-founder of the now-defunct National Rescue Party of Cambodia and was a longtime enemy of Hun Sen, Asia's longest-serving leader."Kem Sokha...is sentenced to 27 years in prison for collusion with foreigners committed in Cambodia and elsewhere," Judge Koy Sao told the Phnom Penh court.
Immediately after the verdict, the 69-year-old was placed under house arrest, where he will be prohibited from meeting anyone who is not a member of his family.
He has a month to appeal the conviction and jail term, Ang Udom, a lawyer for Kem Sokha, told reporters.
The court also deprived him of his right to vote and barred him from running in political elections.
Arrested in 2017 in a midnight roundup involving hundreds of members of the security forces, Kem Sokha was accused of developing a "secret plan" in collusion with foreign entities to overthrow the government of the leader of longtime Hun Sen.
He has repeatedly denied the charges against him.
Critics say Hun Sen has trampled on democratic freedoms and used the courts to stifle opponents, jailing dozens of opposition activists and human rights defenders.
"I cannot accept this decision," Chea Samuon, a Kem Sokha supporter, said outside the courtroom.
"It's very unfair to him and to the people. He's not guilty, it's political pressure."
US Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy, who was present in court, called the trial and conviction a “miscarriage of justice.”
Last August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Kem Sokha during a visit to Phnom Penh, where he also raised concerns about the kingdom's struggling democracy during talks with Hun Sen .
Rights groups say Hun Sen has compromised democratic freedoms and created a climate of fear in the country.
Two months after Kem Sokha's arrest, Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, once seen as the only viable opponent to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
This paved the way for the CPP and Hun Sen to win all 125 parliamentary seats in 2018, turning the country into a one-party state.
Dozens of opposition figures were convicted of treason last year, some in absentia - the latest pressure on opponents ahead of the election.
Last month, Hun Sen ordered the closure of one of the country's few independent local media after challenging a report about his son.
Kem Sohka's trial illustrated the "frightening problem of state control over the justice system in the country", said Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
>AFP
A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27 years in prison for treason, in a case that rights groups say is politically motivated.
Kem Sokha was the co-founder of the now-defunct National Rescue Party of Cambodia and was a longtime enemy of Hun Sen, Asia's longest-serving leader."Kem Sokha...is sentenced to 27 years in prison for collusion with foreigners committed in Cambodia and elsewhere," Judge Koy Sao told the Phnom Penh court.
Immediately after the verdict, the 69-year-old was placed under house arrest, where he will be prohibited from meeting anyone who is not a member of his family.
He has a month to appeal the conviction and jail term, Ang Udom, a lawyer for Kem Sokha, told reporters.
The court also deprived him of his right to vote and barred him from running in political elections.
Arrested in 2017 in a midnight roundup involving hundreds of members of the security forces, Kem Sokha was accused of developing a "secret plan" in collusion with foreign entities to overthrow the government of the leader of longtime Hun Sen.
He has repeatedly denied the charges against him.
Critics say Hun Sen has trampled on democratic freedoms and used the courts to stifle opponents, jailing dozens of opposition activists and human rights defenders.
"I cannot accept this decision," Chea Samuon, a Kem Sokha supporter, said outside the courtroom.
"It's very unfair to him and to the people. He's not guilty, it's political pressure."
US Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy, who was present in court, called the trial and conviction a “miscarriage of justice.”
Last August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Kem Sokha during a visit to Phnom Penh, where he also raised concerns about the kingdom's struggling democracy during talks with Hun Sen .
Rights groups say Hun Sen has compromised democratic freedoms and created a climate of fear in the country.
Two months after Kem Sokha's arrest, Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP, once seen as the only viable opponent to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
This paved the way for the CPP and Hun Sen to win all 125 parliamentary seats in 2018, turning the country into a one-party state.
Dozens of opposition figures were convicted of treason last year, some in absentia - the latest pressure on opponents ahead of the election.
Last month, Hun Sen ordered the closure of one of the country's few independent local media after challenging a report about his son.
Kem Sohka's trial illustrated the "frightening problem of state control over the justice system in the country", said Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
>AFP
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