A Cambodian court found top opposition leader Kem Sokha guilty of treason on Friday and sentenced him to 27 years imprisonment.
The Phnom Penh court said Kem Sokha had colluded with a foreign power to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, something Kem Sokha has repeatedly denied.
The 69-year-old has a month to appeal his conviction and sentence. He was immediately placed under house arrest where he will not be allowed to meet with anyone other than his family members.
Kem Sokha was a founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party which was dissolved by the Supreme Court two months after his arrest in 2017.
W. Patrick Murphy, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, slammed Kem Sokha’s trial and sentence, calling them a “miscarriage of justice.”
Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said Kem Sokha’s trial is an example of the "frightening problem of the state control of the judiciary in the country."
