Prosecutors seek to arrest and press further charges against former opposition leader Kem Sokha
Kem Sokha, former leader of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, gestures as he heads toward Phnom Penh Municipal Court for the resumption of his trial on treason charges on Jan. 19. (Photo: AFP)
Prosecutors have asked a Phnom Penh court to arrest former opposition leader Kem Sokha for violating his bail conditions as Prime Minister Hun Sen announced next year’s general election.
Prosecutors said Kem Sokha, head of the outlawed Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), had allegedly met with supporters and engaged in political activity.
According to online reports, the judges were considering the motion for additional charges against Kem Sokha.
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Meanwhile, the government-friendly Fresh News said it had confirmed Cambodia’s next national ballot “to elect members of the National Assembly” would be held on July 23 next year.
Kem Sokha was charged with treason amid a crackdown on political opposition in 2017 when 15 independent radio stations were forced to close and the courts dissolved the CNRP.
He has been in detention ever since and his absence from the political stage enabled the long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win every seat contested at national elections in 2018 and a massive 74 percent of the popular vote at this month’s commune elections.
“The embassy learned that the prosecutor requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for Kem Sokha. I hope that the judge will consider what is in the national interest when deciding on this request"
Access to the court house is difficult but his daughter Monovithya tweeted: “Very urgent!! The prosecutor is asking the court to issue an arrest of H.E. Kem Sokha. He is now inside … court on trial.”
German ambassador Christian Berger also tweeted: “The embassy learned that the prosecutor requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for Kem Sokha. I hope that the judge will consider what is in the national interest when deciding on this request.”
The prosecutor’s request was despite persistent reports carried by government-friendly media that Kem Sokha had refrained from political activity during his trial, had split from his political ally Sam Rainsy and had effectively distanced himself from the June 5 commune elections.
Shortly after the commune elections, Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced about 60 opposition supporters to between five and eight years behind bars for incitement, including the Khmer Bible editor and American lawyer Theary Seng.
She was jailed for six years and is appealing. Her trial was one of two mass trials initiated against 138 former CNRP leaders who allegedly backed an attempt by leader-in-exile Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia in November 2019 when he vowed to oust Hun Sen.
“The mass trials against political opposition members are really about preventing any electoral challenge to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s rule,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said after the verdicts.
“By creating a political dynamic that relies on intimidation and persecution of government critics, Hun Sen demonstrates his total disregard for democratic rights.”
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