The Phnom Penh Municipal Court rejected CNRP president Kem Sokha’s request to travel to Germany for a summit, with the prosecution saying there was no surety the politician would return to Cambodia.
Defense lawyers called a deputy prosecutor immoral and unprofessional for an example he made in court using former opposition leader Kem Sokha, as lawyers’ debates prevented the judge from reaching a decision about acceptable evidence.
Opposition leader Kem Sokha made another call to find a resolution to his treason trial, adding that efforts to keep him away from politics could render upcoming elections not free and fair.
Kem Sokha’s trial resumed on Wednesday to the usual squabbling between the prosecution and defense teams, with only a few new pieces of evidence produced in support of the CNRP leader’s defense.
Tensions between prosecution and defense consumed most of Wednesday’s trial hearing of opposition leader Kem Sokha’s treason case, as each side accused the other of trying to delay the trial process.
According to a letter circulating on social media, Ung Sovanna, former deputy head of the CNRP’s womens’ movement, has requested political amnesty. Her husband, former CNRP lawmaker Men Sothavarin, said the move took him by surprise.
Six suspects have been arrested for allegedly murdering a family of five for allegedly performing witchcraft, and CNRP leader Kem Sokha’s trial is delayed on account of a Covid-19 positive case.
Defense lawyers in the trial of the opposition leader presented videos in court Wednesday as evidence he had only pushed for electoral change.
CNRP leader Kem Sokha’s defense team argued in court on Tuesday that the prosecution’s repeated use of video evidence did not prove the charge of treason and was only prolonging the trial.
Speculation has been rife about whether the resumption of Sokha’s trial — nearly two years after it was stopped due to Covid-19 — signaled an imminent political deal that could see the former CNRP president return to politics.
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