A Cambodian court sentenced the eminent opposition figure Rong Chhun on Monday for an incentive and sentenced it to four years in prison and permanently prohibited it from voting or presenting itself in the elections in the last decision to target a government critic.
Rong Chhun, who was also sentenced to a fine of 4 million Riel ($ 1,000), said the verdict was politically motivated. He attended the hearing on Monday at the Court of Phnom Penh but was not placed in police custody because the court has not yet made an order for his arrest.
“When we look at it, it is not at all a question of application of the law – it is more political. National and international opinions evaluate it as politically motivated,” Rong Chhun told Radio Free Asia.
“I believe that if we continue on this path, it will only harm the national interests and the advantages of the people. It is not at all beneficial. We must all focus more on democratic principles and compete in elections. It is the best way,” he said.
The long -standing authoritarian sovereign has given power to his son, Hun Manet, who became Prime Minister in 2023, but the pressure did not release criticism from the government. Rights defense groups claim that the members of the opposition party have been subjected to unjustified proceedings and that independent media once falsified were almost demolished.
The Phnom Penh Court condemned Rong Chhun, who has taken importance as a work manager, for an “incentive provoking serious social security disorders” because of comments he made on the demarcation of the Cambodian -Vietnamese border – a subject deeply sensitive to Cambodia.
The accusation presented as proof an interview which he gave to the RFA Khmer who mentioned the inspection by Hun Manet of border markers in August 2024; Visits to Rong Chhun in communities faced with land disputes, especially at a new international airport; And its role in the launch of an office for the National Power Party opposition.
His lawyer Chuong Chou Ngy said that the court had stripped Rong Chhun of his civil rights to stand in the elections or vote for the rest of his life, and that he was considering an appeal.
“The court has not rendered a decision linked to an arrest. He (Rong Chhun) can still act normally and keep his right to appeal,” he said.
Rong Chhun served a prison sentence before.
In 2021, he was sentenced to two years for accused the government of conceding land in Vietnam and served 15 months. He was also ordered to pay 400 million Riel ($ 100,000) to the joint border affairs committee. The municipal court of Phnom Penh ordered Rong Chhun last month to sell his house to pay him.
Yi Soksan, a senior official of the Cambodian human rights group Adhoc who monitored legal proceedings, said that forcing Rong Chhun to sell his home and banned him from life policy was inhuman. He added that this situation will further erode the international perceptions of Cambodia’s commitment to democracy and freedom.
“We have seen in the past how the arrest of political figures and civil society workers affected international relations,” he said, referring to the actions of the European Union and the United States to withdraw the trade benefits of Cambodia.
“This is why the government should reconsider its actions,” he said.
Despite repeated legal actions against him, Rong Chhun urged the supporters of the National Power Party of the opposition, which he advises, not to lose hope and to remain strong in preparation for the national elections in 2027 and 2028.
Edited by Mat Pennington.