Page 7 - W Patrick Murphy News Today

A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced top opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27 years in jail for treason, in a case rights groups say is politically motivated.

 PHNOM PENH, March 3, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced top opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27

Cambodia opposition leader jailed 27 years for treason

A court has sentenced Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha to 27 years in detention for treason. Critics say the trial was designed to keep him out of an upcoming election.

A Cambodian court has convicted the leader of the country's only viable opposition party of treason. The move comes just four months before a general election and a long-planned dynastic handover of power.

Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 over accusations he was conspiring with the United States to overthrow self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades — charges he has denied.

New Age, a Dhaka-based leading English language daily newspaper, is a major source of news of Bangladesh and international affairs

Kem Sokha, the former head of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, has also been banned indefinitely from voting or running for office.

A TOTAL of 604 guns of US origin and manufacture that were no longer serviceable have been destroyed last year, in an effort that a US official said was to ensure the safety and livelihoods of Cambodians.

Since 1997, the US has returned more than 100 antiquities to the Kingdom, thanks to the joint efforts of the two governments at all levels, particularly the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, according to US ambassador W Patrick Murphy.