A senator from Cambodia’s main opposition party was pardoned on Wednesday from the seven-year jail sentence he had been given over a Facebook posting, in a conciliatory sign from Prime Minister Hun Sen towards his opponents. A crackdown on the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has led to the arrest of party leader Kem Sokha on treason charges and a government push to have it dissolved completely. Hong Sok Hour was pardoned by King Norodom Sihamoni at Hun Sen’s request. “He wrote a letter of apology to Samdech Decho and asked him to write to the king to issue a pardon,” Phay Siphan told Reuters, using Hun Sen’s official title. However, Hun Sen reiterated on Wednesday that the CNRP would be dissolved and any elected officials who defected from the opposition to his party would be allowed to keep their positions.

Source: Egypt Independent October 25, 2017 09:56 UTC