WASHINGTON (CN) — U.S. State Department officials condemned the conviction and sentence of prominent Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha on Friday, the same day he was sentenced to 27 years of house arrest and barred from running or voting in elections on charges of treason.
Kem, 69, stands accused of conspiring with the United States to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen. He denies the charges and U.S. officials have rejected the allegations.
Kem cofounded the Cambodia National Rescue Party in 2012 which, according to The New York Times, was seen as the most serious threat to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party before being dissolved in a 2017 crackdown by Sen’s government.
In a statement on Friday, U.S. officials called the charges “politically motivated” and “part of a larger pattern of threats, harassment, and other unacceptable actions by Cambodian authorities to target political opposition leaders, media and civil society.”
“These actions impede any chance for a free, transparent and fair electoral process,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “Prosecuting and convicting individuals like Kem Sokha and many other political figures for exercising their freedoms of expression and association undermines Cambodia’s constitution, international obligations, and past progress to develop as a peaceful, pluralist, and inclusive society.”
Sen has been in power since 1985, but his rise traces back to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The conflict exacerbated an ongoing Cambodian civil war that eventually brought a communist regime to power led by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge.
The Vietnamese regime that rose to power after the U.S. withdrew from the country invaded and conquered Cambodia in 1978. The occupation led to a new civil war that ended in a peaceful resolution in the early 1990s.
United Nations-sponsored elections in 1993 established a constitutional monarchy, but led to a complicated political battle that created two coequal prime ministers represented by different political parties, with Sen representing the Cambodian People’s Party.
In 1997, Sen led a coup that ousted the other prime minister and his party has dominated elections ever since.
Kem was arrested in 2017 on charges of treason and soon after the country’s Supreme Court dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party. The Cambodian People’s Party then swept all 125 seats in the National Assembly in a 2018 election that was condemned internationally as a sham.
After the National Rescue Party’s dissolution, dozens of members were arrested or fled into exile. Cambodia is due to hold elections in July, with opposition members regrouping into the Candlelight Party.
Kem was denied bail several times until he was eventually released under house arrest in 2019.
“The multiyear process to silence [Kem], based on a politically motivated charge, is unjust and profoundly diminishes the Kingdom of Cambodia’s standing in the international community,” Price said. “The United States has consistently called on the Cambodian government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Kem Sokha and all people of Cambodia.”
The judge presiding over the trial said Kem colluded with foreigners to lead a revolution under the guise of campaigning for democratic elections, according to Al Jazeera. The judge accused Kem of using the nongovernmental organization he founded, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, to further the scheme.
Sen is seeking another five-year term in July, but has previously offered support to his son Hun Manet as a successor.
“We urge Cambodian authorities to ensure their citizens can freely exercise their human rights, including freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression, and are encouraged and able to participate in building a truly democratic system,” Price said.
W. Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, told reporters outside the court that the case is a miscarriage of justice.
“Denying Kem Sokha and other political figures their freedom of expression, their freedom of association, undermines Cambodia’s constitution, international commitment and past progress to develop a pluralist and inclusive society,” he said.
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