Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Ex-CNRP leader Kem Sokha gets 27 years, barred from politics

Ex-CNRP leader Kem Sokha gets 27 years, barred from politics

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Kem Sokha greets his supporters as he leaves the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on January 19, 2022. Hong Menea

Ex-CNRP leader Kem Sokha gets 27 years, barred from politics

Former opposition leader Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for “conspiring with foreign powers to overthrow the government”. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court delivered the much-anticipated verdict on the morning of March 3.

Sokha, former president of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested in September 2017 at his residence in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district. He was then placed in pre-trial detention at Trapeang Phlong prison in Tbong Khmum province for more than a year before his release on bail.

His first trial commenced in January 2020, but the proceedings had been postponed many times with Covid-19 concerns cited for the delays.

At the 56th hearing on March 3, 2023, the municipal court sentenced Sokha to 27 years under articles 439 and 443 of the Criminal Code and barred him from politics and elections under Article 450.

He was not immediately sent to prison but confined to his home under court supervision.

According to the court’s March 3 statement, Sokha is barred from leaving his residence in Tuol Kork district’s Boeung Kak II commune, and from having contact with any Cambodian or foreign national by any means aside from his family members – unless granted permission by the prosecutor.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Cambodian diaspora laud Manet’s UN Assembly visit

    Members of the Cambodian diaspora are rallying in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s forthcoming visit to the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) in the US’ New York City this week. Their move is an apparent response to a recent call by self-exiled former

  • After three deferrals, Capital Gains Tax to take effect Jan 1, 2024

    The General Department of Taxation (GDT) will implement the Capital Gains Tax starting January 1, 2024 to after being deferred three times as industrial players warn that the implementation might have some negative impact on the property market growth, which is down due to the economic downturn.