Sam Rainsy raps ‘kangaroo court’
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| Opposition leader Sam Rainsy talks to reporters during a press conference in December 2008. Photo by: Heng Chivoan |
James O’Toole and Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy talks to reporters during a press conference in December 2008. Photo by: Heng ChivoanSAM Rainsy’s conviction yesterday at Phnom Penh Municipal Court has struck a blow both to the opposition and the prospects for pluralism in Cambodia, observers said yesterday.
The 10-year sentence Sam Rainsy received follows a two-year term handed down in January by the Svay Rieng provincial court in connection with a protest last year in which he uprooted border markers to protest alleged Vietnamese encroachment.
Yesterday’s conviction for disinformation and falsifying public documents stems from the opposition leader’s attempts to vindicate his border claims by publicising maps of the territory in question in press conferences and on the SRP website.
