PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, July 21 (UPI) — Eleven activists of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) were sentenced Tuesday for their role in a 2014 protest that became violent and injured dozens.
Judge Lim Makaron of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court ruled that the CNRP members were guilty of participating in an insurrection at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park on July 15, 2014. The head of the CNRP’s media department, Meach Sovannara, was convicted of leading the effort and sentenced to 20 years in jail. Accomplices Oeur Narith and Khin Chamroeun were also sentenced to 20 years. Eight others were sentenced to seven years for joining the protests.
Thirty-nine security officers and six protesters were injured during the July protest to reopen the Freedom Park. During the protest, CNRP members were flanked by government security officers. In response to their enroachment, CNRP protesters attacked the guards, marking their first ever use of violence. The defendants admitted to being part of the demonstrations but deny a role in the violence.
The sentence was handed down despite the absence of all but one of the defense lawyers. Most of the attorneys in absence were protesting the court’s decision to expedite the trial. Throughout the trial’s course, one of the attacked guards said that his right hand was injured and his head beat until he lost consciousness. The same guard, however, also said that he did not recognize the convicted defendants.
Another guard said that he heard protesters calling the guards “the third hand,” a term used to refer to those who are purposed to incite violence.
It is believed that Sovannara’s case was used by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) as a way to exert pressure on the opposition during long legislative negotiations involving the country’s elections. The CNRP is the CPP’s opposition and it believes in revitalizing human rights and the institution of free and fair elections. It holds less than half of the 123 seats in the country’s National Assembly and holds no seats in the Senate.
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