Thirty-six opposition party leaders and activists have been convicted on conspiracy charges in Cambodia for allegedly assisting attempts by exiled members of the opposition movement to return to the country.
In the latest mass trial of opponents of Cambodia’s authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen, opposition leader Sam Rainsy and several former top-ranking officials in his party, as well as supporters of the now banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), were found guilty at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday, local human rights group Licadho said.
At least 33 of those convicted, including many living in exile after fleeing abroad, were tried in absentia and arrest warrants were issued. A single defendant was acquitted.
