Cambodia slaps exiled opposition leader with new jail term
PHNOM PENH: Self- exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 20 months in prison by a Cambodian court yesterday for accusing the government of assassinating a prominent critic.
The verdict is the latest legal case to hamper an opposition movement struggling to break Prime Minister Hun Sen’s 32-year grip on power.
The defamation charge centred around the brazen daylight murder of political commentator Kem Ley in July, whose killing sent shudders through Cambodia’s hard-pressed rights community.
Many feared the assassination was orchestrated by forces loyal to Hun Sen, who has been cracking down on critics ahead of elections in 2018.
Former opposition leader Rainsy, Hun Sen’s top foe, called Kem Ley’s murder an act of ‘state terrorism’ and said “the government was behind the assassination.”
The strongman premier hit back with a defamation charge. — AFP