Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years of house arrest after being found guilty of treason. He has been accused of conspiring with the United States to overthrow long-time ruler Hun Sen in 2017, a claim that was dismissed by Washington as “fabricated conspiracy theories.” Sokha’s legal team plans to appeal the verdict. Judge Koy Sao also said that Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections. Following the ban of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) ahead of the 2018 election, which was won by Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), many members have been arrested or fled the country in what critics have called a sweeping crackdown. Human Rights Watch has described the case against Sokha as a “politically motivated ploy” to crush any opposition to the CPP’s power monopoly. The US has condemned the verdict as a miscarriage of justice.
Kem Sokha, Cambodian opposition member, sentenced 27 yrs house arrest.
