After three years of trial hearings — and five years since Kem Sokha was arrested — closing arguments in the opposition leader’s protracted treason trial were squeezed into one day of hearings.
Judges in the Kem Sokha treason trial have agreed to a two-month break before finally heading into closing arguments in the already-prolonged trial against the former CNRP president.
The Kem Sokha treason trial is barrelling toward a verdict as judges announced an end to witness cross examinations and scheduled closing arguments, much to the consternation of the defense team.
A Phnom Penh court questioned one witness in the Kem Sokha treason trial on Wednesday, mostly focusing on any foreign assistance or direction on political decisions made by the former CNRP president.
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.
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.
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.
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