Six months since the arrest of Cambodia’s Kem Sokha, regional MPs renew calls for his immediate release

JAKARTA – Lawmakers from across Southeast Asia today expressed renewed concern over the continued politically motivated imprisonment of Kem Sokha, President of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), reiterating their call for his immediate and unconditional release, one day before the six-month anniversary of his detention.

“Kem Sokha’s continued detention is an outrageous abuse of power by Cambodia’s ruling party. The charges are so blatantly politically motivated and the judiciary so clearly acting at the behest of the Prime Minister that it’s a wonder the government even bothers going through the motions,” said Malaysian MP Charles Santiago, Chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

“These trumped-up charges should never have been brought in the first place. They should be immediately dropped and Kem Sokha unconditionally freed,” he added.

Kem Sokha was arrested on 3 September 2017 on charges of alleged treason stemming from a 2013 video, in which he discussed efforts toward peaceful, democratic change in Cambodia. He faces 30 years in prison, if convicted.

His arrest came amidst a broader crackdown on civil society and opposition voices that also saw the shuttering of independent media outlets and NGOs and ultimately the dissolution of the CNRP and the banning of 118 of its members from politics on 16 November. APHR has previously said that upcoming parliamentary elections will be “illegitimate” without the presence of the CNRP and criticized recent Senate elections as a “sham.”

On 4 December, APHR members joined parliamentarians from around the world in sending an open letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen, calling for Kem Sokha’s release and raising serious concerns about the validity of the charges against him. The letter was signed by 158 MPs from 23 countries on six continents.

Regional MPs also expressed concerns about the deterioration of Kem Sokha’s health in prison. He has been denied access to outside doctors, and existing medical conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and a shoulder injury, have reportedly been exacerbated by his detention. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeal denied his most recent application for bail on 1 February, despite these concerns.

APHR noted that, in addition to Kem Sokha, other Cambodian opposition politicians have faced judicial harassment, threats, and imprisonment in recent months and years. In a report released last year, APHR found that between 2014 and 2017, at least 12 other lawmakers faced various forms of judicial harassment and physical attacks. Since the report’s release, many of these individuals have continued to be targeted and the total tally of charges has continued to increase.

This harassment has not subsided in the wake of the formal dissolution of the CNRP, APHR said, with cases against opposition members still being pursued to this day.

“Not merely content with stealing elections, the CPP has made a deliberate decision to escalate its crackdown in the aftermath of the CNRP’s dissolution, amending laws to give the ruling party even more leeway to go after critics and continuing to use the judiciary as a tool to harass the opposition,” Charles Santiago said.

“This political crisis is far from over, and until Kem Sokha is released and the CNRP’s status reinstated, Cambodia will remain on a downward trajectory. Every day that Kem Sokha remains in detention is another day Cambodia descends further into autocratic rule,” he added.