Cambodian opposition figure sentenced to 27 years for treason

Cambodia’s prominent opposition figure Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years of house arrest after being found guilty of treason.

Judge Koy Sao, the judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court told the court that Kem Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections indefinitely.

Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 over accusations he was conspiring with the United States to overthrow self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades.

Sokha, who headed the now-disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), had denied the charges and Washington dismissed the allegations as “fabricated conspiracy theories”.

His lawyer said Kem Sokha’s legal team would appeal the verdict.

“He’s in house arrest, all of his political and citizens’ rights are completely stripped … This is not justice,” said Ang Udom, adding that only politicians could resolve the case.

Reacting to the verdict, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, W. Patrick Murphy, said the case was a miscarriage of justice.

“We call on authorities to allow all Cambodians to enjoy … universal human rights of peaceful assembly and free expression and to participate in building a truly democratic system,” he told reporters outside the court.

The government, which has forged close ties with China, tends to dismiss U.S. criticism.

The CNRP was banned ahead of a 2018 election that was swept by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

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CNRP has since been decimated, with many of its members arrested or fleeing into exile in what activists say is a sweeping crackdown designed to thwart challenges to the CPP’s power monopoly.

Cambodia is due to hold elections in July, with the opposition launching the Candlelight Party last year, which largely regroups members of the CNRP.

Clampdown

Many media outlets critical of Hun Sen have also been shuttered and civil dissent crushed in recent years.

Last month, Hun Sen ordered the shutdown of the Voice of Democracy, also known as VOD, one of the last independent Cambodian news organizations, saying it had attacked him and his son and hurt the country.

Hun Sen is expected to seek another five-year term in office in the July election, but he has previously offered support for his eldest son, Hun Manet, as a possible successor.

Zainab Sa’id