PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian court has announced that the trial on treason charges of opposition leader Kem Sokha will begin next month, more than two years after he was arrested.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court said in a statement on Monday (Dec 9) that the trial of Kem Sokha, president of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, will start Jan 15.
Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017 and charged with treason for having links to a US-based democracy promotion organisation.
He could be imprisoned for up to 30 years if found guilty.
His party was dissolved by court order in November 2017 in what was widely seen as a political manoueuvre by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen to ensure that his ruling Cambodian People's Party would face no serious opposition in the 2018 general election.
Two months after Kem Sokha was arrested his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was forcibly dissolved by the Supreme Court, sending most of its elected politicians into exile, joining the party’s other leader, Sam Rainsy, who fled Cambodia back in 2015.
Sam Rainsy and the others tried to mount a heroic return in early November but were prevented from entering any country that borders Cambodia or from boarding flights to Phnom Penh.
The terms of Kem Sokha’s house arrest were loosened on Nov 10.
So far, however, the only evidence the ruling party or courts have put forward revolves around a speech Kem Sokha gave in 2013 in Australia where he stated that the “the USA, which has assisted me, has asked me to take the model from Yugoslavia, Serbia, where they were able to change the dictator Milosevic,” and that he had experts “hired by the Americans in order to advise me on the strategy to change the leaders.”
To date, Kem Sokha has always denied the charges stating that he only wants the best for the people of Cambodia. - Asia News Network/Agencies
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court said in a statement on Monday (Dec 9) that the trial of Kem Sokha, president of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, will start Jan 15.
Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017 and charged with treason for having links to a US-based democracy promotion organisation.
He could be imprisoned for up to 30 years if found guilty.
His party was dissolved by court order in November 2017 in what was widely seen as a political manoueuvre by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen to ensure that his ruling Cambodian People's Party would face no serious opposition in the 2018 general election.
Two months after Kem Sokha was arrested his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was forcibly dissolved by the Supreme Court, sending most of its elected politicians into exile, joining the party’s other leader, Sam Rainsy, who fled Cambodia back in 2015.
Sam Rainsy and the others tried to mount a heroic return in early November but were prevented from entering any country that borders Cambodia or from boarding flights to Phnom Penh.
The terms of Kem Sokha’s house arrest were loosened on Nov 10.
So far, however, the only evidence the ruling party or courts have put forward revolves around a speech Kem Sokha gave in 2013 in Australia where he stated that the “the USA, which has assisted me, has asked me to take the model from Yugoslavia, Serbia, where they were able to change the dictator Milosevic,” and that he had experts “hired by the Americans in order to advise me on the strategy to change the leaders.”
To date, Kem Sokha has always denied the charges stating that he only wants the best for the people of Cambodia. - Asia News Network/Agencies
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