House arrest lifted for Rainsy colleague Sokha
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has freed prominent opposition figure Kem Sokha from house arrest more than two years after he was charged with treason, after attempts by Sam Rainsy, his colleague, to return to the country were thwarted.
Kem Sokha was arrested in 2017 and accused of plotting to overthrow the government of strongman Hun Sen — a charge he dismissed as nonsense.
He was sent to a remote prison, then confined to his house and the surrounding block.
Kem Sokha is the co-founder of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was dissolved ahead of elections swept by Hun Sen last year.
A new court ruling, which cited health concerns, has freed him from house arrest but forbids the 66-year-old from leaving Cambodia or joining political activities. “He can travel nationwide now,” Y Rin, a Phnom Penh municipal court spokesman, said yesterday. Pheng Heng, a lawyer for Kem Sokha, confirmed some restrictions were lifted but said the ban on politics was unclear.
The decision comes as Sokha’s political partner Sam Rainsy is waylaid in Malaysia with other CNRP officials after attempting a highly-publicised comeback on Nov 9, Cambodia’s independence day.
Sam Rainsy has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated.
But after being barred in Paris Thursday from getting on a flight to Thailand, Sam Rainsy boarded a plane a day later and arrived in Kuala Lumpur.
It is unclear how he will get back to the country and for now he plans to meet Malaysian MPs this week.