PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A Cambodian court has sentenced 20 former politicians and activists to up to 10 years in prison after finding them guilty of sedition, as part of a broad crackdown on the political opposition that has drawn international condemnation.
The self-exiled founder of the disbanded opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Sam Rainsy, has already been convicted of multiple offenses and was among those found guilty this week.
More than 100 opposition members or supporters have been charged with treason and incitement in the past few years in Cambodia, where Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled for 37 years, has been accused of trying to crush all opposition to his party’s political monopoly.
Former CNRP leader Kem Sokha is among dozens of people on trial for treason, many of whom are living in exile.
The government has denied targeting the opposition, claiming the trials are not politically motivated.
Rainsy, Hun Sen’s most serious rival, who fled to France in 2015, said the justice system was corrupt, stating, “The will for democratic change which the Cambodian people have demonstrated on every available occasion is impossible to extinguish. Opposing dictatorship is a duty, not a crime.”
Defense lawyer Sam Sokong said seven senior CNRP members were tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison, while 13 of its supporters, who were in custody, were each ordered to serve three years and eight months in prison.
Sokong added that the cases were politically motivated and all his clients were guilty of was voicing their support for Rainsy to return.
“What our clients said was just a right to express opinions as guaranteed by the constitution,” he said.
Deputy prosecutor Plang Sophal said he was unaware of the case and declined to comment.
