Cambodia opposition figure sentenced to 4 years for incitement
PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian court sentenced an outspoken opposition politician to four years in jail for incitement on Monday, he told reporters, barring him from voting and holding office.
Nation Power Party adviser Rong Chhun said he was found guilty of incitement to cause serious social unrest -- a charge Cambodian authorities frequently deploy against activists.
The case was brought against him last year after he met victims of land disputes and commented on Prime Minister Hun Manet's visit to the border area with Vietnam.
Outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Rong Chhun told reporters he would appeal against the 'politically motivated' verdict which he described as 'beyond unjust'. It was not clear if he would immediately be arrested.
'My message is that the rulers must stop using the legal system to suppress politicians,' he said.
He said the case 'reflects our Cambodia has no full democracy and anybody with a dissenting voice who has popularity and support from the people is always suppressed and ousted from the political scene'.
Rong Chhun was previously arrested in 2020 after accusing the Cambodian government of 'irregularities' in the demarcation of the country's eastern border with Vietnam.
He was sentenced to two years in jail in August 2021 but was released three months later by an appeal court, with the remaining sentence suspended for three years.
Rights groups have long accused Cambodia's government of using legal cases as a tactic to silence opposition voices and legitimate political dissent.
Another opposition leader was fined $1.5 million in July after remarking that Cambodia was 'getting worse in terms of democracy' under the leadership of Hun Manet.
Hun Manet assumed power in 2023 after his father, Hun Sen, stepped down following nearly four decades of rule.
Sun Chanthy, the founder of the Nation Power Party established in 2023, was also sentenced to two years in jail in December for inciting social disorder.
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