The leader of a Cambodian opposition party has been sentenced to two years in jail and banned from running for office after he was found guilty of inciting social disorder, in the latest legal case to target government critics.
Sun Chanthy, the president of the Nation Power party, was found guilty of the charge at a court in Phnom Penh. He also faces a fine of 4m riel (£800) and has been stripped of his right to vote or stand for election.
The defence lawyer Choung Choungy said the ruling was an “injustice” to his client and that they were considering whether to appeal.
The case against Sun Chanthy centred on his social media posts including a video, taken during a meeting with supporters in Japan, in which he criticised the Cambodian government.
According to reports in pro-government media, published at the time of his arrest in May, Sun Chanthy had said that government policies had left people indebted to banks, and criticised the government’s system for distributing social welfare.
Choung Choungy told AFP the punishment handed down was very serious and that Sun Chanthy’s comments were not a mistake “but constructive criticism for the development”.
The Cambodian government has repeatedly used the courts to silence its political opponents and activists and to shut down or harass independent media.
Sun Chanthy was previously a senior figure in the former opposition Cambodia National Rescue party, until it was dissolved by the courts prior to elections in 2018. He later joined its unofficial successor, the Candlelight party, though it was banned from competing in last year’s election, a one-sided vote won by the longtime authoritarian leader, Hun Sen. Late last year, Sun Chanthy helped to form a new opposition party, the Nation Power party.
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for almost four decades, handed power to his son Hun Manet shortly after the election.
The authorities have denied the case against Sun Chanthy is politically motivated.
Rong Chhun, an adviser to the Nation Power party, is also facing incitement charges and could be jailed for up to six years if convicted.
Similar charges have been used this year against union leaders, environmental activists and Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist known for exposing corruption and human trafficking, whose arrest in September prompted a global outcry.
