Phnom penh: Kem Sokha, the 72-year-old former Cambodian opposition leader serving a 27-year prison sentence for treason, has been granted a royal pardon. Hun Sen, the current Speaker of the National Assembly and acting head of state, signed the pardon order in the name of King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Manet, Hun Sen's son, stated that the pardon is a significant step in strengthening national unity and solidarity.

According to Thai News Agency, Kem Sokha, the former leader of the now-dissolved Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested in 2017 based on a video in which he stated he received support from several pro-democracy groups in the United States. He was charged with treason by a Cambodian court, but he denied the charges. In March 2023, the Cambodian court found him guilty of treason and conspiring with a foreign power, the United States, to overthrow Hun Sen, who had ruled Cambodia for nearly 40 years. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison, under house arrest, and stripped of his political and civil rights for life. However, the United States and many human rights groups view the charges as fabricated and politically motivated.

Kem Sokha's pardon comes after his appeal against his prison sentence was rejected by the court in April. However, the pardon does not include the lifting of the five-year travel ban, and he remains permanently disqualified from running for election, voting, or engaging in any political activity. Activists argue that maintaining Kem Sokha's political ban is tantamount to a transformation from house arrest to political imprisonment.

Sokha's now-dissolved CNRP party nearly won the 2013 general election against Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and was once the only threat to the Hun Sen regime. However, its dissolution has made Cambodia a de facto one-party state.