A Cambodian court sentenced seven former government officials for “plotting” in a case related to their support for the return of self-exiled opposition activist Sam Rainsy in November 2019. Mr. Sam Rainsy was ultimately unable to return to Cambodia. The ruling represents a marked escalation in the government’s crackdown on banned opposition parties and dissent.
A court in Tepen Kemun province on Tuesday sentenced five former officials of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to seven years in prison, while two other dissidents were sentenced to five years. The defendants’ families and the media were barred from attending the trial, said Ansanya, deputy director of the local human rights organization Licadho.
The individuals were sentenced under Article 453 of Cambodia’s penal code. The article defines conspiracy as “any plurality of individuals who plan to commit a crime,” as well as “a conspiracy to commit a crime through one or more actions. Those who violate this provision can be sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison.
The convicted individuals posted on Facebook between 2018 and 2019 in support of Sanlamentsi’s return from his self-imposed exile in France.
Defense attorney Sansogon said, “Only one of those seven convicted men is in custody; the others have fled or gone into hiding. There is no evidence that they were involved in the conspiracy.”
The convictions are the latest in a long-running crackdown on dissent by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. Hun Sen has been in power since 1985 in various coalition governments.
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