upheld the conviction of a Christian activist

Theary Seng’s first six-year sentence was handed down in June. They had denied the application for parole during the appeal. He is also continuing the treason trial against opposition leader Kem Sokha.

Phnom Penh ( / Agencies) – The Cambodian Supreme Court confirmed a six-year prison sentence against Christian activist Theary Seng, accused of treason for supporting former opposition leader Saim Rainsy and the Cambodian Nation Rescue Party (CNRP). , the party banned by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

It is an “unfair” sentence, said defense attorney Choung Chou Ngy, who had filed an appeal in August. Last month the Court of Appeals rejected the request for freedom while the appeal was being examined, because the judges considered that the activist’s release would have affected public order.

Seng – who also has a US passport – worked on modifying the Khmer-language version of the Bible. She had previously been arrested in 2019 following Sam Rainsy’s failed attempt to return to Cambodia from his self-exile in Paris. At that time they arrested more than 120 activists.

Seng’s first six-year prison sentence was handed down in June this year: “This regime will not set me free,” he had said before it was revealed. “It will be an unfair verdict because the other defendants and I are innocent, but we live in a dictatorship.” Together with Seng they had arrested more than 50 people who remained loyal to the CNRP. In protest, the Christian activist had dressed as the Statue of Liberty and was barred from entering the courtroom and hearing the verdict.

The CNRP was accused of plotting a revolution to overthrow the government and dissolved by the Phnom Penh High Court in 2017. Its current leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested. In elections the following year, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won all the seats, drawing criticism from human rights advocates.

The crackdown intensified when Sam Rainsy, who headed the CNRP along with Kem Sokha, declared that he wanted to return to Cambodia in November 2019. Since then, hundreds of activists and political opponents have been arrested. A maxi treason trial against Kem Sokha is still pending. Human rights groups say the only goal is to silence critics of the government.