Cambodian analyst arrested on charge of defaming premier
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A Cambodian political analyst was arrested Friday based on a criminal complaint by Prime Minister Hun Sen that he had defamed him in a radio interview.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court accepted charges of defamation and inciting chaos against Kim Sok and put him in pretrial detention, said its spokesman, Ly Sophana. He could face up to two years in prison if convicted. Hun Sen is also seeking $502,500 in compensation.
Kim Sok last week gave an interview to the Cambodian-language service of U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia that Hun Sen felt implied his government was behind the killing last year of another political analyst and critic of the government, Kem Ley. The trial for the lone suspect is set to begin next month.
Hun Sen’s government in the past year has put increasing legal pressure on its critics and political opponents, keeping them tied up in court, sending them fleeing into exile, or sometimes jailing them. The courts are widely considered to be under the sway of Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party