Cambodia's opposition leader jailed for 2 years
For years Cambodia's ruling party has denied allowing free speech and has cracked down on its opponents. It has arrested almost 102 people in 2024 who spoke against it.
The president of the Cambodian opposition party, Sun Chanthy, was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday (Dec 26) and was also barred from elections for inciting social unrest. This is the latest in a series of alleged cases in which activists are being silenced for criticising.
Chanthy was arrested and charged in May after he met his supporters in Japan. Police say that he spreads false information on social media and that his arrest has nothing to do with politics.
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His lawyer said that he was sentenced in absentia as he could not travel from a provincial prison to attend court in Phnom Penh as he suffers from travel sickness.
In at least four decades, the Cambodian People's Party has sentenced numerous politicians, journalists, and labour and environmental activists who spoke against the government.
For years, the ruling party has denied allowing free speech and has cracked down on its opponents.
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In 2023, Sun Chanthy formed the Nation Power Party after Cambodia's only opposition party, called the Candlelight Party, was banned from an election, and the CPP ended up winning.
According to human rights group LICADHO, 102 people have been arrested and jailed in Cambodia in 2024, along with 6 still in detention.
Chanthy was a senior personality in the former opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, but it was dissolved in 2018 before the election.
He later joined the Candlelight Party, which got banned, so he formed his own party.
Cambodia's authoritarian leader, Hun Sen, ruled over the country for almost four decades and handed it over to his son Hun Manet just after the election.
(With inputs from agencies)
