NARRATIVE – The regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power for thirty years, is tightening the noose four months before the legislative elections.
In Phnom Penh (Cambodia).
It was through a backdoor in the municipal court of Phnom Penh that Kem Sokha was removed from the Cambodian political arena. After three years of a river trial punctuated by 66 hearings, the 69-year-old opponent was sentenced on Friday to 27 years in prison for “treason“.
Following a short hearing, Kem Sokha was kept at a safe distance from the audience of journalists and supporters gathered outside the court, cutting short any possibility of speaking.
A vehicle took him to his home, where he is now under house arrest and placed under judicial supervision. “I am shocked and I have pity for him, sighed a sympathizer in front of the court following the verdict. If he is ever freed and if he creates a new party, I will support him without hesitation.»
A few minutes earlier, Judge Koy Sao announced the heavy sentence against the former leader of the National Rescue Party of Cambodia (PSNC), the main opposition party…
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