Cambodia Exile Convicted in Absentia
A Cambodian court Thursday convicted opposition leader Sam Rainsy in absentia of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen, a ruling denounced by the United States and rights activists as an attack on free speech.
Rainsy, who has been living in self-imposed exile in France since his parliamentary immunity was revoked in February, was sentenced to nine months in prison for accusing Hun Sen of trying to kill him in a 1997 grenade attack that left 16 people dead.
Rainsy received an additional nine-month sentence for defaming royalist opposition leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh, whom he had accused of accepting bribes to become Hun Sen’s junior coalition partner.
“There is no evidence to support his allegations against Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh,” said Judge Chiv Keng in his verdict.
In a statement from Paris, Rainsy called the ruling “farcical justice” that no one would take seriously.
“I am confident that justice will eventually prevail and that I will be able to come back to Cambodia very soon,” said the former finance minister, who is now a French citizen.
The United States was concerned that the decision deepened an “unfortunate trend” of the “continuing deterioration of democratic principles such as free speech,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
Human rights groups say the trial reflects the increasingly autocratic style of Hun Sen, who has led the country for 20 years.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
