Cambodian opposition leader found guilty of treason ahead of election

The party posed the most serious threat to Mr. Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party, known as the CPP, and the dissolution of the CNRP paved the way for Mr. Hun Sen’s party to capture all 125 seats in the National Assembly in the 2018 election .

The arrest of Mr Kem Sokha and the ending of the CNRP were part of a wide-ranging crackdown on opposition politicians, activists and members of the press, in which hundreds of people have been imprisoned or sentenced in absentia after fleeing abroad. In June a court in Phnom Penh convicted at least 51 opposition activists of “incitement” and “conspiracy” and other charges.

Among those convicted was Theary Seng, a lawyer and civil rights activist of US and Cambodian citizenship who is now serving a six-year sentence in a remote prison in Preah Vihear province.

Human Rights Watch, which has strongly condemned every step of Cambodia’s crackdown, on Friday urged foreign governments to reconsider their stance on Mr. Hun Sen’s government.

“It was obvious from the outset that the charges against Kem Sokha were nothing more than a political ploy by Prime Minister Hun Sen to marginalize Cambodia’s main opposition leader and eliminate the country’s democratic system,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Human Rights Watch Asia director.

He said the verdict was “not just about destroying his political party, but about shattering any hope that there can be any real elections in July”. Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Southeast Asia, stressed the same point, saying: “This verdict comes as an unequivocal warning to opposition groups months ahead of the national elections.”

Mr. Hun Sen made the point vividly in a speech in January, in which he warned his political opponents to prepare for an attack. He said he could “call CPP officials to protest and beat you,” adding: “Be careful. If I can’t control my temper, you will be destroyed.”

sun Narin contributed reporting from Phnom Penh.