US urges Cambodia to remove restrictions against opposition leader

PHNOM PENH: The US urged Cambodia’s government yesterday to drop all charges against opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was released on bail but has been placed under house arrest.

Kem Sokha was released from prison on Monday after spending more than a year in jail on treason charges but remains under house arrest in the capital, Phnom Penh.

He was arrested last September as part of a crackdown against critics.

“The US government has taken note of Mr Sokha’s transfer to house arrest, which falls far short of a full release, as well as the recent freeing of other political prisoners,” US Embassy spokeswoman Emily Zeeberg said in an email.

“We continue to call on the government of Cambodia to drop all charges against Mr Sokha, remove restrictions on the political rights of him and other opposition leaders, and engage opposition leaders in an urgent dialogue aimed at building genuine national reconciliation,” she said.

Kem Sokha, 65, is the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved as part of the crackdown.

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won all 125 parliamentary seats in the election, which the United Nations and some Western countries have said was flawed because of the lack of a credible opposition, among other factors.