Cambodia's exiled opposition leader has been tried in absentia on charges of conspiring to incite chaos through false documents posted on his Facebook page, a crime punishable by up to 17 years in prison.

Two other opposition members, who ran and maintained Sam Rainsy's Facebook page, also were tried on the same charges - conspiracy to falsify public documents, inciting chaos and using fake documents. The two fled Cambodia in August 2015 to avoid arrest. Sam Rainsy, the president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, lives in exile in France.

After a brief hearing Friday that included statements by the prosecutor and the defense, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court adjourned the trial and set the verdict for Dec. 22. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy was tried in absentia Friday for allegedly conspiring to incite chaos in the country through false documents posted on his Facebook page, a crime punishable by up to 17 years in prison.

Two other opposition members who maintained Sam Rainsy’s Facebook page also were tried on the same charges – conspiracy to falsify public documents, inciting chaos and using fake documents. The two fled Cambodia in August 2015 to avoid arrest. Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, lives in exile in France.

After a brief hearing that included statements by the prosecutor and the defense attorney, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court adjourned the trial and set the verdict for Dec. 22.

Sam Rainsy’s troubles stem from a post by a member of his party, Sen. Hong Sok Hour, in August 2015 criticizing a 1979 Cambodia-Vietnam border treaty, which implied that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government was Vietnam’s puppet. Hong Sok Hour posted on Sam Rainsy’s page, and was subsequently arrested and tried.

To support his accusation on Facebook he attached a map of the border and a disputed copy of the treaty that said the two countries had agreed to “dissolve” their border. Defense lawyers said the word “dissolve” was a mistranslation of the word “redefine,” but he was convicted last month and sentenced to seven years in prison.

On Friday, prosecutor Sieng Sok urged the court to punish Sam Rainsy and his two colleagues, saying they were part of the conspiracy by allowing his Facebook page to be used by Hong Sok Hour. The convicted senator appeared as a defense witness Friday and testified that Sam Rainsy had nothing to do with the post.

Defense lawyer Sam Sokong told the court that Sam Rainsy was in the United States when the post was made and knew nothing about it. He said the page was operated by other officials.

The trial is the latest in a series of cases against opposition leaders in what is generally seen as an attempt to disrupt their organizing efforts ahead of local elections next June. The next general election is not until the middle of 2018, but holding power at the local level is an advantage when national polls are held.

Sam Rainsy is the most prominent target of these prosecutions, and has been in exile since November last year to avoid a jail term on a conviction that he had thought was covered by a royal pardon. There are several other cases pending against him. The government last month banned his re-entry from abroad, making it more difficult for him to fight the charges even if he chooses to return.

He has also been found guilty of defamation for alleging that a senior government official sought to inflate Hun Sen’s online popularity by buying “likes” for his Facebook page.

Hun Sen has been Cambodia’s leader for three decades. But in a general election in 2013, his grip on power was shaken. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has found the country’s exiled opposition leader guilty of defamation for alleging that a senior government official sought to inflate Prime Minister Hun Sen’s online popularity by buying “likes” for his Facebook page.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday found Sam Rainsy, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of 10 million riel ($2,500) in addition to 15 million riel ($3,750) in compensation to Sam Soeun, a senior official assigned to oversee Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

There has been a flurry of cases against opposition members in Cambodia’s courts, widely believed to be under the influence of Hun Sen’s government, with the intention of disrupting their organizing efforts ahead of local elections in June. </s> PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia released eight protesters hours after police detained them for demonstrating against what activists described as the politically motivated imprisonment of a group of rights workers and an election official.

Two of the protesters were foreign men, one Swedish and one German.

They were freed on Monday night after being questioned for supporting rights activists who were jailed over an ongoing sex scandal investigation involving opposition politician Kem Sokha.

“They released us after over 10-hour detention,” Ee Sarom, one of those detained, told Reuters on Tuesday.

A series of legal cases filed against prominent members of the main opposition party have raised tensions in Cambodia, where self-styled strong man Prime Minister Hun Sen has held power for 30 years.

Rights groups have accused the government of using the legal system to neutralize the opposition to give Hun Sen an advantage in the run up to the next general election in 2018.

Sam Rainsy, the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), is in exile to avoid prison on charges that were reactivated last year and for which he had previously received a royal pardon.

Kem Sokha, the party’s acting president in Rainsy’s absence, is facing charges for defamation and procurement of prostitution after recordings of a telephone conversation purportedly between Sokha and a woman were leaked.

Six other people - including a United Nations employee - allegedly paid the woman to deny she had a relationship with Sokha, and are facing trial on bribery charges.

The UN worker has not been detained.
Sam Rainsy, the Cambodian opposition leader, is tried yet again in absentia.