UPDATED — Former Cambodia National Rescue Party vice president Mu Sochua and 35 others were convicted by a Phnom Penh court this morning for plotting in a case linked to the exiled opposition leader’s attempted return to the country in 2021.
Police investigations into plotting charges against former CNRP members, including Mu Sochua, relied mostly on their public Facebook posts and interviews with pro-opposition media Radio Free Asia.
Judges in a CNRP mass trial said one of the defendants had a mental illness after neighbors and local officials, but not medical professionals, attested to the alleged condition.
At least 13 former CNRP activists who were convicted in March for their involvement in the formation of the overseas CNRM opposition movement and for comments about the Covid-19 response appealed their sentences at the Appeal Court on Tuesday.
Japan hopes to continue “friendly” visits to Ream naval base, a spokesperson said; a mass trial of at least 40 defendants associated with the CNRP resumed Monday.
The resumption of the trial of opposition activist Seng Chan Theary kicked off to heated arguments of the court’s procedures.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court delayed a mass-trial hearing against CNRP members and supporters because a defense lawyer had come in contact with a Covid-19 case at PJ Prison. Six political parties welcomed the National Election Committee’s decision to retain Form 1102, which is used to report results to poll observers at voting stations.
A video from 2018 about the formal announcement of an opposition movement was presented Thursday as evidence of plotting and incitement.
An Interior Ministry employee, jailed for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government with the CNRP, pleaded his innocence on Thursday and reaffirmed his “love” for the government, as a Phnom Penh court resumed a trial against opposition members.
Two CNRP mass trials involving dozens of defendants are set to be heard at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court this week after being delayed by the “February 20” Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
