Phnom Penh (VNA) – Former leader of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) Kem Sokha will remain in temporary detention to serve investigation and judgment.
On August 22, the Supreme Court of Cambodia once again rejected an appeal for bail by Kem Sokha’s lawyer.
The ruling was made in the context that several political analysts hope that Sokha could be set free after an absolute victory of the ruling Cambodia People’s Party led by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a freshly-ended general election, and many opposition politicians have been proposed to receive amnesty in recent days.
Sokha, 64, was arrested on September 3, 2017 and detained from September 6, 2017 on charges of conspiring with a foreign power in accordance with Article 443 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.
On March 27, Cambodia’s Appeal Court agreed with a trial’s ruling on extending the detention of Sokha by additional six months.
On May 7, the Supreme Court rejected a plea for bail by the former opposition leader.
Last mid-November, the CNRP was dissolved by the Supreme Court and 118 senior party members were banned from joining politics for five years.-VNA
VNA