A procession of Cambodian police vehicles carrying former National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha heads to an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Kem Sokha begins his appeal hearing after the court convicted him of treason and sentenced him to 27 years of house arrest. This is the latest blow in a campaign by the government to silence its critics or drive them out of the country. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A top opposition leader appealed against his 27-year treason sentence for trying to topple former premier Hun Sen’s government, his lawyers said.
A court in March last year found Kem Sokha, a co-founder of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), guilty of conspiring with foreign entities to overthrow Hun Sen’s government.
He was sentenced to 27 years in prison and immediately placed under house arrest.
The court also stripped Kem Sokha of his political rights and banned him from meeting foreigners or anyone who is not a family member.
Kem Sokha, 70, has repeatedly denied the charges against him since his arrest in 2017.
Yesterday morning, he was taken in a convoy of police cars from his house to the appeal court, which is not open to journalists.
Judges are set to conduct nine hearings to hear arguments in Kem Sokha’s appeal, his lawyer Ang Udom told reporters after the first hearing was concluded.
“We oppose the verdict issued by the first court that has made a wrong decision,” he said, adding that Kem Sokha also asked judges to consider easing his detention restrictions so that his relatives could take care of him.
In a statement, Amnesty International urged the Cambodian authorities “to overturn the baseless treason conviction and sentence of Kem Sokha and end their ongoing crackdown against opposition groups”.
The next hearing is scheduled for Feb 8, Ang Udom said.
Security was tight outside of the court with police setting up roadblocks to keep dozens of Kem Sokha’s supporters away.
Rights groups say the charges against Kem Sokha were designed to bar him from politics ahead of last July’s elections, in which Hun Sen’s ruling party won a landslide victory with no meaningful opposition.
The United States characterised his sentence as a “miscarriage of justice” based on a “fabricated conspiracy”. — AFP
