PHNOM PENH, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Monday granted a pardon to former opposition leader Kem Sokha, who had been sentenced to 27 years in prison for treason case.
A royal decree, signed by Acting Head of State Samdech Techo Hun Sen, said the amnesty was granted to convict Kem Sokha, former president of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).
"This amnesty applies only to the prison sentence, and does not apply to other sentences," the royal decree said.
Kem Sokha was sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in 2023 to 27 years in prison for treason, but was ordered to serve his sentence in home detention.
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 doing politics for life.
On April 30, the Appeal Court upheld the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's decision to sentence him to 27 years in prison, and also banned him from leaving the country for five years. ■