Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha sentenced to 27 years in prison

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A court in Cambodia has sentenced opposition leader Kem Soha to 27 years in prison on charges of treason, Reuters reports.

Soha will also be barred from political office. and vote in elections.

The opposition leader was arrested in 2017 on charges of conspiring with the United States to overthrow Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in power since 1985. His reign is one of the longest in the world.

The reason for the arrest was a video from 2013, where the politician says that he received support from American pro-democracy groups.

Kem Soha , who led the now-disbanded Cambodia National Salvation Party, denied the allegations. The oppositionist's lawyer said that a team of lawyers would appeal against the judge's decision.

“He is under house arrest and has been completely stripped of all political and civil rights. This is not justice”, — Attorney Ang Oodom said.

US Ambassador to Cambodia Patrick Murphy called the verdict “a miscarriage of justice.”

“We call on the authorities to allow all Cambodians to enjoy the universal human rights to peacefully assemble and freedom of speech, as well as to participate in building a real democratic system”, — he told reporters.

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