Accessibility links

Breaking News

Cambodian Court Orders Seizure of Opposition Party's Headquarters


FILE - A man rides a motorcycle past the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) headquarters in Phnom Penh, Nov. 17, 2017.
FILE - A man rides a motorcycle past the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) headquarters in Phnom Penh, Nov. 17, 2017.

A Cambodian court on Tuesday ordered the temporary seizure of the headquarters of the main opposition party, pending the payment of damages to Prime Minister Hun Sen, the latest blow to the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Rights groups and Western nations have decried a crackdown against the political opposition and independent media ahead of a general election set for July 29.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found veteran opposition chief Sam Rainsy guilty of defaming Hun Sen last December and ordered him to pay damages of $1 million.

FILE - Sam Rainsy delivers a speech to members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) at a hotel in metro Manila, Philippines, June 29, 2016.
FILE - Sam Rainsy delivers a speech to members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) at a hotel in metro Manila, Philippines, June 29, 2016.

Sam Rainsy was convicted of defamation over claims he made in France that Hun Sen bribed an activist to break up the CNRP, which was dissolved last year at the government's request.

He was also convicted of defamation in a separate lawsuit and ordered to pay damages of $62,500 to National Assembly President Heng Samrin, of Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Judge Ros Piseth ordered the seizure of the CNRP headquarters, which was also Sam Rainsy's former home, in the capital, Phnom Penh.

"In order to defend the benefits of creditors in this case by law and guarantee the effective legal enforcement, the court should seize the property temporarily," Ros Piseth said.

Sam Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2015 to avoid prison sentences, did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment. His party, the CNRP, was dissolved by the Supreme Court in a decision that also banned more than 100 CNRP lawmakers from politics.

The CNRP dissolution was followed by the arrest of another leader, Kem Sokha, last year for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government with U.S. help, an accusation both the United States and Kem Sokha have rejected.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG