Cambodian court convicts opposition leader of land giveaway

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A court in Cambodia has convicted opposition leader Sam Rainsy in absentia of planning to cede national land to a foreign entity and sentenced him to life in prison. The punishment is mostly symbolic since the government has blocked his return home several times. Sam Rainsy’s lawyer says the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted him for allegedly agreeing in 2013 to hand over territory to a hilltribe minority if he came to power. The prosecution said a video of Sam Rainsy and a hilltribe leader proved he violated the law against “handing over to a foreign state all or part of the national territory.” Sam Rainsy and his supporters say it only showed that he supported self-determination rights for minorities such as the hilltribes.