Cambodian court gives an opposition leader 2-year prison term, keeping pressure on critics
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A Cambodian court on Thursday convicted an opposition party leader of inciting social disorder and sentenced him to two years in prison, the latest legal assault on opponents and critics of the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court also gave Nation Power Party president Sun Chanthy a permanent ban on voting or running for office and fined him four million riels ($1,000). He was convicted in absentia as he chose not to attend Thursday’s brief trial.
Sun Chanthy, 41, was arrested in May this year at Phnom Penh International Airport after returning from a trip to Japan where he held a meeting with several hundred Cambodian overseas workers. He spoke there critically about Hun Manet’s government and urged that opposition political parties be allowed to operate more freely.
Under former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who held power for almost four decades, Cambodia was widely criticized for human rights abuses that included suppression of freedom of speech and association. He was succeeded last year by his American-educated son, Hun Manet, but there have been few signs of political liberalization.
Cambodia’s government has long been accused of using the judicial system to persecute critics and political opponents. The government insists it promotes the rule of law under an electoral democracy, but political parties seen as mounting strong challenges to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party have been dissolved by the courts or had their leaders jailed or harassed.
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