He spent more than eight years in detention. He was convicted of treason in a trial that rights groups called a sham. His party was dissolved. His allies were jailed or exiled. On Monday, Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was granted a royal pardon from a 27-year prison sentence.
But he is not truly free.
Senate President Hun Sen, the former strongman who ruled Cambodia for 38 years and is acting as head of state in the absence of King Norodom Sihamoni, issued the pardon. Prime Minister Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s son, described the move as a step in strengthening national unity.
Kem Sokha made no immediate public comment. His lawyers said the action did not lift a ban on him taking part in politics or leaving the country for five years after his sentence was over.
He is out of house arrest. But he is still a prisoner.
The Crime That Wasn’t a Crime
Kem Sokha was convicted in 2023 following a long period of pretrial detention. He was accused of conspiring with the United States to topple the Cambodian government. He has consistently denied the charge.
The primary evidence against him was a video of him discussing political advice from U.S.-based pro-democracy groups. He told the appeals court last month that he had never conspired with any foreign country to cost the lives of Cambodian citizens or the loss of national territory.
His arrest in 2017 marked the start of a broad government crackdown on independent media and political opponents, notably Kem Sokha’s popular Cambodia National Rescue Party. The Supreme Court dissolved the party shortly after his arrest, allowing Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party to sweep all parliamentary seats in the 2018 elections.
Hun Sen was the prime minister when Kem Sokha was arrested and convicted. In 2023, Hun Sen became Senate president, and his son succeeded him as prime minister. The dynasty continues.
The Pardon’s Cruel Conditions
The pardon is being described by human rights groups as partial and cynical. Elaine Pearson, the regional director for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: “Hun Sen’s decision to pardon Kem Sokha after more than eight years in arbitrary detention partially reverses a grievous injustice, but it is deplorable that Sokha remains barred from participating in politics or leaving the country.”
She added: “Cambodia’s remaining opposition politicians and parties are still under constant threat of arbitrary arrest and baseless restrictions. The government needs to ensure that political rights are respected in the country.”
The Phnom Penh Appeals Court had affirmed Kem Sokha’s 27-year sentence at the end of April, following a much-delayed appeals process. It added the condition barring him from leaving the country for five years after his sentence was over. The pardon does not remove that condition.
Kem Sokha had visited his ailing 101-year-old mother with the court’s permission earlier Monday before the pardon was announced. He did not speak to the media, but a video posted on social media by his lawyer showed him hugging his mother and saying that if he were free, he would enter the Buddhist monkhood to honor her. He also said he would not seek revenge against those who put him in prison.
That last line is striking. A man who spent eight years in detention for a politically motivated charge, who was barred from politics and travel, who saw his party dissolved and his allies crushed — says he will not seek revenge.
The Political Climate
The decision is unlikely to greatly affect the political climate in Cambodia, where other opposition figures remain in exile and where political and social activists continue to face restrictions on freedom of speech and movement. Hun Sen, who served 38 years as Cambodia’s leader, has long been accused of using the judicial system to persecute critics and political opponents. While the government insists it promotes the rule of law under an electoral democracy, the courts have frequently dissolved political parties seen as potential rivals and jailed or harassed their leaders.
Critics charge that the situation has not improved much under Hun Manet. The pardon of Kem Sokha may be a gesture, but it is not a turnaround.
The Bottom Line
Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was granted a royal pardon from a 27-year treason sentence, freeing him from house arrest after more than eight years in detention. But the pardon does not lift a ban on him taking part in politics or leaving the country for five years. Human Rights Watch called it a “partial” reversal of a “grievous injustice.” The decision is unlikely to change Cambodia’s political climate, where opposition figures remain exiled or restricted, and where the ruling family — Hun Sen and now his son Hun Manet — maintains a tight grip on power.
Kem Sokha is free. But he is not free to speak. He is not free to run. He is not free to leave. In Cambodia, that is what passes for a pardon.
