San Francisco Frontiers - Cambodia's Hun Sen pardons detained opposition leader

Kem Sokha, who was convicted of trying to topple the former long-ruling leader's government and sentenced to 27 years, "is pardoned", Hun Sen posted on social media alongside a royal decree signed by him.

Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, stepped down as prime minister in 2023 and handed power to his eldest son, Hun Manet.

But Hun Sen is still president of the Senate, remains an influential figure in national politics, and is acting head of state while King Norodom Sihamoni receives medical treatment abroad.

Kem Sokha, 72, was arrested on treason charges in 2017 and sentenced six years later, but was ordered to serve his time under house arrest in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The co-founder of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Kem Sokha has repeatedly denied the charge.

Rights advocates say his prosecution was designed to bar him and his popular opposition movement from politics after the party made electoral gains against Hun Sen's entrenched Cambodian People's Party.

United Nations rights experts said in 2023 that Kem Sokha's trial appeared to have been "artificially prolonged".

They said his conviction was "politically motivated" and evidence of a "pattern of the misapplication of laws" to target political rivals.

A lower court earlier stripped Kem Sokha of his political rights and banned him from meeting foreigners or anyone who is not a family member.

- 'Conciliatory spirit' -

UN rights chief Volker Turk said this month he was "deeply concerned" by a Cambodian court rejecting Kem Sokha's appeal against his treason sentence on April 30.

Monday's pardon did not undo an additional sentence against Kem Sokha, added by the appeals court, banning him from leaving the country for five years, the royal decree said.

The opposition leader said in a letter to the appeals court dated Monday that he would not appeal against its decision to the Supreme Court, although he was "not satisfied".

"Resolving this issue with a conciliatory spirit through dialogue between Khmer and Khmer is the best option for the national and Cambodian people's interest," Kem Sokha said, referring to the majority ethnic group in Cambodia.

Prime Minister Hun Manet said the pardon was a "further step in strengthening national solidarity (and) unity", in a Facebook post.

Scores of political opponents were convicted during Hun Sen's time in power while CNRP co-founder Sam Rainsy, Hun Sen's long-time rival, lives in self-exile in France.

Rights groups have long accused Cambodian authorities of using legal cases as a tactic to silence opposition voices and legitimate political dissent.

L.Lopez--SFF