Cambodia: Prominent Cambodian opposition politician Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.
The former leader of the dissolved opposition party the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was arrested in 2017 and accused of conspiring with the US to oust Cambodia’s authoritarian leader, Hun Sen, who has ruled for almost four decades.
US ambassador W Patrick Murphy said the allegations, which Kem Sokha denied, were “fabricated conspiracy theories”.
Judge Koy Sao told the court in Phnom Penh on Friday: “Kem Sokha … is sentenced to 27 years in prison on the charge of collusion with foreigners committed in Cambodia and other places.” Kem Sokha, who has now been placed under house arrest, was also banned from running for office and from voting in elections.
Rights groups have strongly condemned the verdict, which they say is a warning intended to silence opposition figures months before national elections, which are due in July.
Amnesty International described the charges as “fabricated”, adding that the Cambodian justice system had “once again shown its jaw-dropping lack of independence”, while Human Rights Watch said Kem Sokha should be “immediately and unconditionally” released.
Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017, when hundreds of police raided his home in the middle of the night amid a crackdown on the media and critical voices. He has since spent years in detention and with restrictions on his movement, and has been banned from taking part in politics.
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