Cambodian opposition leader gets 27 years on treason charge

By SOPHENG CHEANG and GRANT PECK
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A court in Cambodia has convicted opposition leader Kem Sokha of treason and sentenced him to 27 years of house arrest, the latest blow in a campaign by the government to silence its critics or drive them out of the country. The Friday ruling against the country’s most prominent opposition politician not in exile, widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments, comes just four months ahead of a general election. Kem Sokha’s September 2017 arrest marked the beginning of a fierce campaign by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government to use the courts — widely considered to be under its influence — in a crackdown on dissent.