Opposition leader Kem Sokha released from jail

HONG KONG — Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was released on bail Monday, a year after he was jailed on treason charges that were widely seen as politically motivated and prevented him from challenging Prime Minister Hun Sen in elections.

Kem Sokha was released from a remote jail close to the border with Vietnam around 3 a.m. Monday, according to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which cited his poor health. Lawyers and family members said he would be confined to a one-block radius surrounding his home and would be under court supervision.

Under the terms of his release, he is barred from all political activities and from contact with his colleagues in the opposition and foreign nationals allegedly linked to his treason charges.

“He is virtually under house arrest,” said Mu Sochua, deputy leader of his now-dissolved opposition party.

Hundreds of supporters and reporters gathered around his house in Phnom Penh on Monday morning, but Chan Chen, his lawyer, said he would not be meeting supporters or making any public statements.

Kem Sokha was the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and was arrested last September on charges of working with foreign agents to overthrow Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades. A few months after his arrest, his party was dissolved and its senior members were barred from participating in politics for five years.

The moves were widely viewed as a way to silence critics and anyone who could pose a threat to the dominance of Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party ahead of elections held in July.