Government lawyers spent the afternoon of Wednesday’s hearing trying to impeach Kem Sokha’s character by linking him to multiple Sam Rainsy speeches, where the exiled opposition leader called for an overthrow of the government.
The court is currently discussing Kem Sokha’s political career after he decided to merge the Human Rights Party with the Sam Rainsy Party to establish the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in July 2012.
Sann Chouy and Cheng Penghap, government lawyers, questioned Kem Sokha’s decision to join Sam Rainsy and form the CNRP. They pointed to a 2011 speech in Lowell, Massachusetts, where Sam Rainsy called for the armed forces to not attack citizens, to instead turn their guns on the government and for an overthrow of the dictatorial regime.
