Cambodia begins treason trial of 37 opposition figures

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A trial has begun in Cambodia for activists and former opposition lawmakers accused of a treason conspiracy for allegedly trying to help an exiled political candidate return home. A defense lawyer says just three of the 37 defendants were in court Thursday. Several top leaders of the disbanded Cambodia National Rescue Party were absent because they are either in exile or in hiding to escape what they deem to be political persecution. A court disbanded the party just before 2018 elections in a move widely believed to ensure authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s victory. The party’s former leaders now in exile have been thwarted twice in trying to return home.