(Updated with feedback from countries and NGOs)
Bangkok, March 3. Cambodian outlaw opposition leader Kem Sokha was sentenced on Friday to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, the politician’s family reported, a charge described as ” invented” by the United States and human rights NGOs.
Sokha, who has also been banned for life from holding political office, will remain at his home in Phnom Penh, where he was already under house arrest, as he appeals the decision of a court in the Cambodian capital, the governor’s daughter said on Twitter. .condemned, Monovithya Kem.
“He is also prohibited from communicating with anyone except his family members,” Monovithya noted.
The US Embassy in Cambodia expressed in a statement its “concern” at the belief that it is based on an “invented plot” and that its objective is to “silence” the opponent.
Denying Kem Sokha “his freedom of expression and association undermines Cambodia’s constitution, international commitments and the progress made towards a pluralistic and inclusive society” in Cambodia, underlines the American delegation.
The 69-year-old opposition leader of the banned Cambodian National Rescue Party (PRNC) was arrested in 2017 on charges of conspiring with foreigners to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Sokha’s arrest was carried out at the behest of Hun Sen, who has been in power since 1985, amid a sweeping crackdown on the opposition, NGOs and independent media months before the 2018 general election is due to be held.
Sokha was arrested after a video emerged in which he appeared to boast to his supporters that he had received advice from the United States to promote political regime change in the country.
His arrest was followed by the outlawing of the PRNC and the flight from Cambodia of a hundred of its leaders, the closure of several independent media and the expulsion of some NGOs.
“The charge of treason against Sokha is totally absurd and can only be admitted by a court in the service of a government that has turned the country into a one-party dictatorship,” said Mercy Barends, chairwoman of the parliamentarians of the ASEAN for Human Rights and Indonesian parliamentarian.
Without the participation of the PRNC, which won almost half of the vote in the 2013 elections, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party prevailed in the July 2018 elections, where it won all 125 contested seats.
Today’s sentence against the opposition leader, who began standing trial in January 2020 in a trial lengthened by the covid-19 pandemic, is announced as Cambodia prepares for general elections scheduled for July 23, in the what Hun Sen seeks to be -election in the face of weak opposition.
In this context, Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia of the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), underlined that “sending Kem Sokha to prison (…) destroys any hope that there may be genuine legislative elections in July”.
“This verdict is an unequivocal warning to opposition groups just months before national elections. The use of the courts to harass opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen knows no bounds,” Amnesty International said. EFE
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