Judges in the Kem Sokha treason trial questioned the opposition leader over training given to the disbanded CNRP by a Serbian group, which the government has previously accused of fomenting color revolution in eastern Europe.
The trial against opposition leader Kem Sokha tried to link him to an alleged color revolution attempt in 2013 when party colleagues and supporters held lotuses at public demonstrations, and questioned him over the Taiwanese ruling party’s visit to his CNRP that year.
Judges in the Kem Sokha treason trial said they will start interrogating witnesses, marking a progression in a case that has been discussing evidence and facts since January 2020.
Prosecutors and judges in the Kem Sokha treason trial looked to link senior CNRP leadership to the violence during garment worker protests in 2014, though most of the time they linked Sam Rainsy or Mu Sochua to the violence, not Sokha.
Years of political pressure preceded opposition Kem Sokha’s arrest on September 3, 2017, which came amid a year of escalating incidents. Five years since that day, his treason trial drags on with the country’s political opposition cowed by arrests and toothless in the face of a dominant ruling party.
Prosecutors and government lawyers tried to link opposition leader Kem Sokha to garment workers’ demonstrations in the capital in 2013-2014, as his lawyers again argued that the evidence did not support the charge of treason.
Judges in the Kem Sokha trial admitted a new piece of evidence presented by the prosecution last week and again said that the trial was nearing its end.
The prosecution submitted a new audio clip of a former CNRP lawmaker to bolster their case against opposition leader Kem Sokha, with his defense team saying the development shows the case was faltering for lack of material to support the treason charges.
Kem Sokha’s treason trial hearing on Wednesday was cut short by a judge after the prosecution and defense lawyers disputed each others’ behavior and tactics in court.
Parents who won a lawsuit against a baby formula company in April are still waiting for the final court verdict to claim compensation. A defense lawyer for Kem Sokha asked for a delay in the trial due to Covid-19.
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