Analysis: Is Sokha, CNRP Supporters’ Release Just the First Step?
Several commentators were incredulous that Prime Minister Hun Sen would go so far as to restore the outlawed CNRP to appease the EU, Cambodia’s biggest export partner.
Several commentators were incredulous that Prime Minister Hun Sen would go so far as to restore the outlawed CNRP to appease the EU, Cambodia’s biggest export partner.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that the treason case against opposition leader Kem Sokha would not be dropped and would continue in line with court procedures.
UPDATED 6:10 p.m. — A Phnom Penh judge has closed the investigation into opposition leader Kem Sokha’s treason case more than two years after his arrest, with the court still left to decide whether and when to send the case to trial.
At least three CNRP supporters charged in relation to opposition leader Sam Rainsy’s return-to-Cambodia campaign were freed on bail on Thursday, their lawyer said.
CNRP supporters in Thailand said since Friday that they were remaining at the ready to march across the border into Cambodia if and when party leaders give the go-ahead.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan rejected the notion that Cambodia would alter its approach to politics under the pressure of possible trade sanctions, as diplomatic meetings continued on Wednesday at the newly released opposition leader’s Phnom Penh home.
A day after having his court restrictions relaxed, opposition leader Kem Sokha on Monday met with the French and U.S. ambassadors at his home, though he refrained from speaking to journalists because he was unclear whether it would violate his ban on participating in politics.
Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha has been released from de facto house arrest following a 2017 arrest on widely criticized treason charges, but remains under court supervision, according to a court statement published by government-aligned Fresh News Sunday.
UPDATED 8 p.m. — CNRP acting president Sam Rainsy arrived in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, an official for the party’s overseas wing said.
CNRP acting president Sam Rainsy, who had pledged to return to Cambodia today with aims of putting the nation on a democratic path, will arrive in an undisclosed Asian country this afternoon, opposition vice president Mu Sochua said.
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