Cambidia - US citizen Cambodian human rights lawyer Theary Seng was indicted along with 59 other opposition figures for their involvement in helping Sam Rainsy, chairman of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) return from exile in 2019.
The accusations were denied by the defendants. The CNRP was Cambodia's largest opposition party before it was dissolved by a court ahead of the 2018 elections. As a result, Prime Minister Hun Sen is free to continue his reign which has now reached 37 years.
The Phnom Penh District Court in its ruling on Thursday (16/6), sentenced Seng to six years in prison. Others received prison terms of between five and eight years.
Most of the previous 60 convicts have fled into exile or gone into hiding. It is not clear how many people were present during the trial. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 27 people were indicted in absentia.
Seng himself chose to await the verdict outside the courthouse, with the intention of making his arrest visible to the public eye, "rather than taking place in the dark." Journalists reported that he was taken away by three police officers shortly after the decision was read out.
authoritarianism train
For Seng, his detention was "the price to pay in order to live up to my beliefs about justice and freedom," he said. "I am ready to languish in a Cambodian prison for my belief in democracy."
The mass imprisonment of opposition figures in Cambodia sparked a US reaction that saw a "pattern of anti-democratic behavior" by the government in Phnom Penh.
In a press release, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said it was "deeply concerned about the mass conviction of the opposition in Cambodia," and viewed it as "the latest example in a series of shocking behavior threats, intimidation and persecution."
"This action is detrimental to multi-party democracy and the rule of law," he added, demanding that Prime Minister Hun Sen "release all those unjustly detained, including Theary Seng, and protect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly."
Diplomacy retreat
This is not the first time Cambodia's move has provoked US criticism. Last week, the government in Washington also complained about Phnom Penh's mysterious stance regarding the expansion of the Ream military base in the Gulf of Thailand with Chinese assistance.
"Cambodia's lack of transparency is extraordinary," a top US official told Reuters. When Cambodia finally officially announced the project, "it was preceded by months of government denial of Chinese involvement."
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Cambodia and China were taking "nearly absurd" steps to keep China's military activities secret at the base, including sneaking Chinese employees during visits by foreign diplomats to the region.
Cambodia's stance has been met with critical criticism in Washington, which since the era of President Joe Biden has tried to soften its stance towards the Southeast Asian nation.
Phnom Penh has long been seen as a close ally of China. However, diplomatic relations with Washington began to show serious closeness, among others, when Cambodia canceled military exercises with China before the visit of the US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, at the end of 2021.
In the Biden era, the US adopted the doctrine of multilateral partnership for Asia-Pacific countries. But the policy is understood by Beijing as an attempt to "hijack" China's relations with countries in the region.
"This strategy was created to create conflict and confrontation to block (China) and encircle others," said Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fengh, Sunday (12/6).
rzn/as (ap,afp)
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