Two men were convicted Friday in military court for anti-government activities, including membership in the Cambodian Freedom Fighters and the Free Vietnam movement.
Le Son Bao, a Vietnamese-American, was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison for trying create an illegal armed force. He has been missing since April, when he fled after receiving a court summons.
RCAF soldier Rith Phalla received three years on the same charge.
Judge Ney Thol said the two had been found with leaflets for the Free-Vietnam movement, an anti-Hanoi group whose alleged members are occasionally arrested in Cambodia. They also had papers tying them to the CFF, which launched a failed assault on several government buildings in November, Ney Thol said.
Friday’s trial came a week after 30 suspected CFF members were found guilty of trying to overthrow the government.
Le Son Bao recruited Rith Phalla to be the president of the King Eagle Trading Network company, which authorities say was a front for their anti-government organization.
But Ang Udom, Le Son Bao’s lawyer, said his client was only a businessman and had no papers linking him to either the CFF or Free Vietnam. Rith Phalla’s lawyer, Put Theavy, also said his client was only trying to do business.
“I admit he was wrong [to do business] but he has a small salary and he tried to make money to support his family,” Put Theavy said of Rith Phalla, who is barred from entering into private business by military regulations.
Ney Thol rejected both arguments, saying the pair had conspired for a long time to set up an armed force they hoped would eventually overthrow the government.
Despite these recent trials, critics claim the government has fabricated both the CFF and Free Vietnam—using them as a way to eliminate opponents.
The CFF trials came under heavy criticism from rights groups for being unfair. In almost every case, lawyers had little time to prepare their defenses.
