PHNOM PENH, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Thursday concluded a two-day hearing on former opposition leader Kem Sokha's appeal in his treason case, but has not yet set a specific date for issuing a verdict, his lawyer said.
The Phnom Penh Appeal Court resumed Sokha's appeal on Wednesday after delays for more than 18 months.
Sokha, the former president of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in 2023 to 27 years in prison for treason, but was ordered to serve his sentence under house arrest.
The 72-year-old former opposition leader was convicted of conspiring with a "foreign power" in an attempt to overthrow the legitimate Cambodian government and he was arrested in 2017.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court also banned him from politics for life.
Sokha had appealed against the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's verdict. The Phnom Penh Appeal Court began hearing his appeal in January 2024, and the process had been delayed since September of the same year.
Sokha, accompanied by his lawyers, appeared at the appeal court on Thursday.
His lawyer Pheng Heng said during the two-day session, a prosecutor urged the court to uphold the conviction, while Sokha's co-defense lawyers called on the court to overturn the conviction.
He said that an appeal verdict for Sokha will be issued at a later date, but no specific date was given. ■