Cambodia passes law to revoke citizenship of people convicted of treason in crackdown on opposition

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo of Cambodian police officer (Reuters)

PHNOM PENH  -  Cambodia's parliament passed a law on Monday that will allow people convicted of treason to be stripped of their citizenship, a new measure that comes amid a sustained crackdown on opponents of the long-ruling Cambodian People's Party. 

The law, approved by 120 of the 125 members of the CPP-dominated National Assembly, will allow the state to revoke the citizenship of anyone convicted of conspiring with foreign countries or plotting against Cambodian interests.

Many prominent political figures have fled Cambodia to avoid arrest amid intensified efforts to stifle the CPP's opposition in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2017 banning of the Cambodian National Rescue Party ahead of an election the following year.  

Cambodia has since held mass trials involving more than 100 opposition figures, with many jailed in absentia on treason and incitement charges.

The CPP has been widely condemned by activists and Western countries, including the United States, for a crackdown on remnants of the opposition that has ensured the past two elections were virtually one-horse races.

The government denies targeting opponents and says those sentenced to prison were law-breakers.  

Notable dissidents in exile include the now defunct CNRP's co-founders Sam Rainsy, who has lived in France since 2016, and Mu Sochua, now in the United States. 

Cambodia's influential longtime former prime minister and CPP President Hun Sen said in late June that Cambodia needed to take action against nationals who "side with foreign nations". 

Rainsy, who has already been banned from entering Cambodia, has long been Hun Sen's fiercest critic. He has accused him of mishandling a border dispute with Thailand that spiralled into armed conflict last month, alleging corruption by the military and a government cover-up of civilian deaths, which both have denied.   

(Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Martin Petty // REUTERS)