Jail verdict upheld against Cambodia opposition deputy

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH (AA) - Cambodia’s appeal court has upheld a five-month prison sentence meted out against the deputy leader of Cambodia’s opposition party in what the party spokesman says is a politically motivated case.

On Sept. 9, Kem Sokha was convicted in absentia for failing to appear for questioning at the court in a prostitution case, which critics say is spuriously linked to recordings of Sokha and his mistress leaked at the start of the year.

Sokha has been in hiding since May 26, leaving the compound only once since then, in early October, when he registered as a voter and candidate in the 2018 national elections.

The Cambodia Daily on Saturday quoted Sokha’s lawyer as saying that the decision by the Court of Appeal to uphold the prison sentence had “all the signs of being politically motivated,” and that it would be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Yim Sovann -- the spokesman for the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party -- told Anadolu Agency on Saturday that the court ruling is unfair, because the case is politically motivated and that the party is “focusing on negotiations to solve the political problem”.

Asked if there are any legitimate concerns that an attempt could be made to arrest Sokha if the Supreme Court also upholds the verdict, Sovann said the ruling Cambodian People’s Party would ultimately do what it wants.

“If they want to have a solution or create more problems, it depends on them now,” he said.

Political analyst Ou Virak told Anadolu Agency that an arrest is “always a possibility” down the line, but that the strategy for now appears to be giving “time and legal pressure to weaken the opposition and push them into certain deals that the ruling party would want.”

In addition to Sokha being in hiding, CNRP leader Sam Rainsy has been in exile for the past year to avoid being imprisoned in a years-old defamation case.