The King of Cambodia has pardoned 72-year-old former opposition leader Kem Sokha. Last month, the court in Phnom Penh upheld his sentence of 27 years of house arrest for high treason after Sokha appealed.

Kem Sokha, leader of the now dissolved Cambodian National Salvation Party (CNRP), was arrested in 2017. He is alleged to have conspired with the United States to overthrow the government of then Prime Minister Hun Sen. Human rights organizations and the US said the case was politically motivated.

Hun Sen was the leader of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party for four decades. Under his rule, press freedom was restricted, the internet was heavily censored and opponents of the regime were silenced. In 2023, son Hun Manet took over from his father. He signed the decree on behalf of King Norodom Sihamoni.

Refugee Cambodian activist Mu Sochua of the Khmer Movement for Democracy calls the pardon an attempt to ‘whitewash’ the government’s actions. “The prison sentence is reduced, but the ban on political activities and restrictions on freedom of travel abroad remain in place. This is nothing more than a change from house arrest to political confinement.”