Phnom Penh (VNA) – Former leader of the now-dissolved CambodiaNational Rescue Party (CNRP) Kem Sokha will remain in temporary detention toserve investigation and judgment.
On August 22, the Supreme Court of Cambodia once againrejected an appeal for bail by Kem Sokha’s lawyer.
The ruling was made in the context that several politicalanalysts hope that Sokha could be set free after an absolute victory of the rulingCambodia People’s Party led by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a freshly-endedgeneral election, and many opposition politicians have been proposed to receiveamnesty in recent days.
Sokha, 64, was arrested on September 3, 2017 and detainedfrom September 6, 2017 on charges of conspiring with a foreign power inaccordance with Article 443 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.
On March 27, Cambodia’s Appeal Court agreed with a trial’sruling on extending the detention of Sokha by additional six months.
On May 7, the Supreme Court rejected a plea for bail by theformer opposition leader.
Last mid-November, the CNRP was dissolved by the SupremeCourt and 118 senior party members were banned from joining politics for fiveyears.-VNA