Cambodia lifts house arrest on opposition figure
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has freed a prominent opposition figure from house arrest more than two years after he was charged with treason, a court spokesperson said yesterday, after attempts by his colleagues 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, who has ruled since 1985.
He was sent to a remote prison, then confined to his house and the surrounding block and prohibited from talking to the media.
But “he can travel nationwi- de now”, Y Rin, a Phnom Penh municipal court spokesman, said.
Sokha is the co-founder of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was dissolved ahead of elections swept by Hun Sen last year.
The new court ruling, which cited health concerns, forbids the 66-year-old from leaving the country or joining political activities.
Pheng Heng, a lawyer for Kem Sokha, confirmed that some restrictions were lifted but said the ban on politics was too broadly worded and 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 Saturday, Cambodia’s independence day.
Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid jail for convictions he says are politically motivated, had promised a dramatic return.
But after being barred in Paris on Thursday from getting on a flight to Thailand, Rainsy boarded a plane a day later and arrived in Kuala Lumpur.
Rainsy said the release of Sokha from house arrest was a small step in the right direction but said the “ludicrous” treason charge against his opposition colleague should be dropped.