Fourteen Cambodian opposition activists were yesterday freed from long prison terms, their pardons coming as the latest in a series of releases engineered by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen after his party’s election sweep last month.
The 14 former members of the now-disbanded opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party were convicted of insurrection in connection with a street protest four years ago that turned violent. By many accounts, the violence was started by pro-government agitators and the arrests of the opposition members were seen as political persecution.
The 14 were serving prison terms ranging from seven to 20 years, the longer sentences given to those seen as leaders of the July 15, 2014, protest in Phnom Penh. It had been held as opposition lawmakers were boycotting parliament to demand political reforms, saying the previous year’s election had been rigged by Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party.
Photo: AFP
Yesterday’s releases came at about 1am, a move that seemed intended to keep supporters from gathering publicly to welcome them. A court spokesman said the pardons were signed on Monday by King Norodom Sihamoni at the request of Hun Sen.
The acts of clemency came after the July 29 general election, in which the Cambodian People’s Party won all 125 National Assembly seats. The polls were heavily criticized inside and outside Cambodia as unfair, because pro-government courts last year dissolved the Cambodia National Rescue Party, the only credible opposition group.
In the run-up to the election, there was a crackdown on Hun Sen’s political foes and the media that crippled the opposition. Hun Sen, who has been in office since 1985, has a record of cracking down harshly when facing a serious challenge, then easing up when he no longer feels threatened.
A repentant appeal for pardons issued on Friday by the 14, along with a conciliatory statement calling for national unity from the most prominent prisoner, former opposition spokesman Meach Sovannara, after his release, suggested that the latest release was carefully orchestrated by the government.
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