Cambodian Woman Given Year in Prison For Accusing Hun Sen of Kem Ley's Murder

A court in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh sentenced a Cambodian woman to a one-year jail term on Thursday for posting a video on her Facebook page accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen of ordering the murder more than a year ago of government critic Kem Ley.

Hin Van Sreypov, aged 37 and a former member of the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, was also handed a one million riel (U.S. $249) fine following her conviction in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on a charge of “incitement to commit a felony,” according to local media reports.

No explanation of the charge or description of the felony she had allegedly attempted to incite was provided by authorities, the Cambodian newspaper Phnom Penh Post said in a Jan. 11 report.

Popular political commentator Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight in Phnom Penh on July 10, 2016, just days after discussing on an RFA Khmer call-in show a report by the London-based group Global Witness detailing the wealth of the family of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 32 years.

Authorities arrested Hin Van Sreyov, also known as Heng Leakhena, on July 12, 2017 at a local bus station after she posted an accusation of Hun Sen’s involvement in the murder on her Facebook page on July 9.

Full story: rfa.org

Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Richard Finney.