Cambodia opposition leader charged with treason, espionage

Phnom Penh, Cambodia | AFP | A Cambodian court on Tuesday charged opposition leader Kem Sokha with treason and espionage over an alleged conspiracy with unnamed foreigners, as strongman premier Hun Sen intensifies his assault on his political enemies.

Opponents of Hun Sen, as well as NGOs and the critical press, have increasingly been smothered by court cases and threats before a crucial general election next year.

Kem Sokha, 64, a veteran opposition politician who has formally led the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) since March, is accused of conniving in a “secret plan” with foreign entities which began in 1993, according to a court statement.

It said evidence of a conspiracy was substantial enough to charge him under the penal code section for “treason and espionage”, which carries up to 30 years in jail.

Kem Sokha was arrested early Sunday in a swoop by hundreds of security force members at his home in the Cambodian capital.

Hours later Hun Sen — Asia’s longest-serving leader — accused the politician of being in cahoots with the United States.

“Behind his (Kem Sokha’s) hand it is still the same, it is America,” he said, in a typically bombastic speech.

To back up his claims, Hun Sen cited a publicly available 2013 speech by the opposition politician given in Australia in which he said he had received US help to build a pro-democracy movement inside Cambodia.

A report on the speech featured on the pro-government Fresh News website shortly before the arrest.

Washington has yet to address the espionage allegation but the State Department said the charges against Kem Sokha “appear to be politically motivated”.

It added that his arrest followed “a number of troubling recent steps” against civil society and the free media that threatened to undermine the credibility of next year’s elections.

UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said he was “seriously concerned” by the arrest, adding it “appears to have been carried out with no respect for due process guarantees, including respect for his parliamentary immunity”.