27 years of house arrest for opposition leader in Cambodia
In Cambodia, the court found opposition leader Kem Sokha guilty of “treason” and sentenced him to 27 years of house arrest.
The court in the capital, Phnom Penh, removed Sokha, leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which dissolved in 2017, on the grounds that he had “supported external powers and used human rights and politics as tools”. . organize people to carry out a ‘color revolution’ in order to overthrow the government”, found guilty of treason.
The court ruled that Kem Sokha, who was sentenced to 27 years of house arrest, must be banned from all political activity, including voting, and must not be allowed to meet anyone except his family. Ang Udom, Sokha’s lawyer, told the media that they will file an appeal within a month.
Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, said in a statement: “Cambodia’s justice system has once again demonstrated a staggering lack of independence by convicting Kem Sokha on baseless and politically motivated charges. This decision is a clear warning to the opposition months before the general elections. Prime Minister Hun Sen knows no limits in using the courts to prosecute his opponents.
In a written statement from the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, it was argued that denying Sokha and other politicians their right to expression and association would undermine Cambodia’s constitution, international commitments and progress towards development.
JUDICIAL PROCESS
After Prime Minister Hun Sen’s narrow victory in the 2013 elections, pressure increased on the opposition in Cambodia. The court sentenced the then leader and eight senior members of the CNRP, which was closed in 2017, to at least 20 years in prison.
Sam Rainsy, the then leader of the CNRP, had to leave the country in 2016 due to a prison sentence for “insulting”. Kem Sokha, who became head of the CNRP after Sam Rainsy, was also arrested on 3 September 2017 on charges of “treason”.
The Constitutional Court shut down the CNRP in 2017 and banned 118 party members from politics.
Hun Sen and his party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), won all the seats in parliament in the general elections held on July 29, 2018, which were not contested by the main opposition party.
Former CNRP leader in exile Rainsy made a statement on social media on September 24, 2019, calling on the Cambodian Armed Forces to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen on Independence Day, November 9. .
The statement read: “Overthrowing the Hun Sen regime is a legal and legitimate action because Hun Sen usurped the power of the people with a fake election in 2018.” Following the announcement, a lawsuit was filed against Rainsy and other party members on charges of plotting a coup. (AA)