Cambodian ex-opposition leader sentenced to 20 months in jail for linking PM to political analyst murder

A Cambodian court on Thursday sentenced, in absentia, former opposition leader Sam Rainsy to 20 months in prison for alleging that Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen was behind the assassination of political analyst Kem Ley.

Rainsy, former president of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was charged with defamation and incitement to cause turmoil for social security after he wrote on his Facebook page in August last year that Kem Ley's shooting was "another act of state terrorism."

"After examining documents and evidence, the court decides to sentence Sam Rainsy, 68, to one year and eight months in prison and to fine him 10 million riel (2,500 U.S. dollars)," said the verdict read by Phnom Penh Municipal Court presiding judge Y Thavrak.

The court also ordered Rainsy to pay 100 riel (2.5 U.S. cents) in compensation to Hun Sen upon his request.

Rainsy has been living in self-exile in France since November 2015 to avoid a seven-year imprisonment for defamation and incitement cases.

Kem Ley, 46, was shot dead at a Star Mart store in Phnom Penh on July 10 last year when he was drinking a morning coffee.

On March 23, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced a 39-year-old man, Chuob Samlab, to life in prison for murdering Kem Ley. The man confessed to the crime during a hearing on March 1, claiming that he got furious with Kem Ley, who owed him 3,000 U.S. dollars but did not pay him back. Endit