Kem Sokha: Cambodia opposition leader given 27-year sentence for treason

The most famous opposition figure in Cambodia has been given a 27-year house arrest term for treason.

Also prohibited from running for office or casting a ballot in elections is Kem Sokha, the previous leader of the now-disbanded Cambodian National Rescue Party.

He was charged with planning to depose Prime Minister Hun Sen's administration with foreign governments.

One of the world's most enduring autocrats, Hun Sen has been in charge since 1985.

In July, there will be legislative elections in Cambodia. Although some think he intends to cede control to his oldest son, Hun Manet, the majority of people anticipate that he will run again.

Based on a 2013 video in which Kem Sokha, then 69, claimed to have received assistance from US pro-democracy organizations, he was first detained in 2017.

His defense team and he have refuted the allegations, claiming there is no legal basis for the accusations.

The US envoy to Cambodia, W Patrick Murphy, stated on Friday that the case involved a miscarriage of justice.

According to Reuters, Kem Sokha's attorney, Ang Udom, announced that his team would file an appeal against the decision.

The accusations against him have been criticized by human rights organizations and Western countries as being unfounded and politically motivated.

"It was clear from the outset that the charges against Kem Sokha were nothing but a politically motivated ploy by Prime Minister Hun Sen to sideline Cambodia's major opposition leader and eliminate the country's democratic system," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Kem Sokha's political party will be destroyed as well as any chance of a legitimate general election in July by sending him to jail.

The organization urged the authorities to release him "immediately and unconditionally" and to overturn the verdict.

This verdict won't surprise many people because Hun Sen is generally believed to have complete control over the Cambodian judiciary.

Former human rights defender Kem Sokha was the leader of the Cambodian National Rescue Party. Its support soared during previous elections to the point where Hun Sen and his party were in danger of losing.

A prohibition on his party was imposed before the 2018 election. The majority of its officials have either faced legal action or been sent into exile.

Hun Sen closed down Voice of Democracy, one of the last independent media outlets in the nation, last month, claiming that it had published an article attacking his son and harming the government's image.