Kem Sokha (Source: AFP/VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – Leader of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Kem Sokha was released on September 10 but immediately put under house arrest to serve investigation of his alleged crimes, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said the same day.
According to the court, Kem Sokha was granted bail due to health reasons, with legal assurances he could not flee the court proceedings.
Kem Sokha is still under monitoring for his alleged illegal collusion with foreigners from 1993-2017 under Article 443 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.
In the early morning of September 10, Kem Sokha was freed from Trapeng Phlong prison in Tbong Khmum province and returned to his home in Phnom Penh.
On August 30, the court still decided to prolong the detention of Kem Sokha for six months to serve investigation and judging.
After Prime Minister Hun Sen completed his new cabinet, he proposed the amnesty and release of a number of opposition political activists.
Kem Sokha, 64, was arrested on September 3, 2017, and detained from September 6 for the charge of “colluding with foreigners” under Article 443 of the country's Criminal Code.
On March 5 this year, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered an additional six months of detention for Kem Sokha. He could face up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.
More than two months after his arrest, the CNRP was dissolved by the Supreme Court and 118 senior party members banned from joining politics for five years.-VNA
VNA
