PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Prominent Cambodian opposition politician Kem Sokha was on Friday sentenced to 27 years in detention under house arrest after being found guilty of treason, in a case condemned by the United States as politically motivated.
Judge Koy Sao also told the court Kem Sokha would be barred from running for political office or voting in elections.
The opposition politician was arrested in 2017 over accusations he was conspiring with the United States to overthrow self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades. Kem Sokha, who headed the now disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party, had denied the charges and Washington has dismissed the allegations as “fabricated conspiracy theories”.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
