By Taryn Wilson
Bangkok, Apr 30 (EFE).- A Cambodian appeals court on Thursday upheld the treason conviction of former opposition leader Kem Sokha and imposed additional travel restrictions in a long-running case considered by rights groups and UN experts as being politically motivated.
The 72-year-old former president of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was arrested in September 2017, and convicted in March 2023 of conspiring with the United States to overthrow then-prime minister Hun Sen’s government, charges he vehemently denied.
The politician was sentenced to 27 years under house arrest and was banned from voting and running for political office.
The Phnom Penh Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, and added an additional five-year ban on international travel, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
The case against the ex-leader is widely described by observers and rights groups, including HRW, Amnesty International and UN experts, as “politically motivated.”
“The criminal justice system has again been weaponized to launch politically motivated prosecutions to suppress freedom of expression and muzzle dissent,” International Committee of Jurists’ Law and Policy Director Ian Seiderman said after Kem Sokha’s conviction.
Cambodian police transport former opposition leader Kem Sokha after a hearing at the Appeals Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 30 April 2026. EFE/EPA/KITH SEREY
At the time of the politician’s arrest, his CNRP was the only real threat to Hun Sen’s authoritarian rule months out from the 2018 general election.
Two months later, the party was dissolved by the government-controlled Supreme Court, paving the way for Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party to go on to take all seats in parliament after the July election, effectively turning the country into a one-party state.
Many senior party officials fled into exile after the dissolution, and hundreds of CNRP activists and supporters have since been arrested, detained and prosecuted, including in mass trials.
“The Cambodian government should drop this bogus prosecution of Kem Sokha, immediately release him, and unconditionally restore his political rights,” said HRW Deputy Asia Director Bryony Lau on Thursday.
Foreign embassies in Phnom Penh reacted to the ruling with concern and condemnation.
EU Ambassador Igor Driesmans posted a statement to X, also signed by the ambassadors for Germany, France and the Czech Republic, saying the outcome of the appeal was noted “with concern.”
“Political pluralism is essential for enabling an open political and civic space in Cambodia, respectful of its democratic commitments,” they said.
The British embassy said it was “disappointed” in the outcome.
“We would like to see Kem Sokha released and his political freedoms restored. We believe this would help strengthen democracy in Cambodia,” it added.
Australia’s ambassador to Cambodia, Derek Yip, said Canberra’s charge d’affaires attended the hearing. Yip described the outcome as “deeply disappointing” and urged Cambodia “to take steps to expand civic space and create the conditions for genuine, contested elections.”
The United States appears not to have made a statement on the case since the conviction, when it said “the multi-year process to silence Kem Sokha, based on a fabricated conspiracy, is a miscarriage of justice.”
Following the 2023 general election, Hun Sen transferred his prime ministership to his son, army commander Hun Manet, and the elder was later appointed Senate president, consolidating the dynasty.
“Under Hun Manet and Hun Sen, the Cambodian government has drastically curtailed rights, repressing civil and political space and other fundamental freedoms,” HRW said. EFE
Cambodian police officers transport former opposition leader Kem Sokha at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 30 April 2026. EFE/EPA/KITH SEREY
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