Cambodian opposition politician appeals conviction

An outspoken Cambodian opposition politician asked the country’s highest court on Monday to overturn his four-year jail term for incitement to cause social unrest.

Nation Power Party adviser Rong Chhun was convicted of the offence last year, sentenced to prison and banned from voting and holding office.

Cambodian authorities frequently use the charge against activists.

The case was brought against him in 2024 after he met victims of land disputes and commented on Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to the border area with Vietnam.

An appeals court upheld his conviction earlier this year, and the Supreme Court heard his further appeal on Monday.

About 200 supporters rallied outside the building.

“We hope that the court will render justice to me and will give me freedom so that I can continue my political life in the future,” Rong Chhun told the crowd after the hearing.

The court will issue its ruling on Friday, he added.

He was “not worried” about going to prison if he lost the appeal, he said, adding that as “an opposition party, we always meet obstacles”.

Rong Chhun was previously sentenced to two years in jail in August 2021, but was released three months later by an appeals court.

Rights groups have long accused Cambodia’s government of using legal cases as a tactic to silence opposition voices and legitimate political dissent.

Opposition leader Kem Sokha, who had been sentenced to 27 years for treason, was pardoned last month, but his political rights, including holding office and voting, remain revoked.

AFP

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