PHNOM PENH, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Wednesday that there will be no any release of former opposition leader Kem Sokha, who has been behind bars since September last year in a treason case.
"There will be no acquittal of charges against him because this is the treason case," he said in a speech during a get-together with nearly 15,000 garment factory workers in Phnom Penh's western suburb. "No one will free him because he has not been sentenced yet."
Hun Sen said the government still sued the 65-year-old former opposition leader for his treasonous acts.
Kem Sokha, president of the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested on Sept. 3 last year and charged with treason for conspiring with a foreign power in an attempt to overthrow the government. He is facing up to 30 years in prison if found guilty of committing treason.
More than two months after his arrest, the CNRP was dissolved by the Supreme Court and 118 senior party members were banned from joining politics for five years.
The prime minister said that because Kem Sokha is a "culprit," not a "convict," so he has no rights to ask the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni to pardon him.
Under the kingdom's law, the prime minister has rights to ask the king to give amnesty to any convicts.
Hun Sen's remarks came a day before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court is scheduled to visit Kem Sokha in the Trapaing Thlong Prison in southeastern Tboung Khmum province for a hearing on whether to extend his pre-trial detention.
Also, the remarks were made after Kem Sokha's loyalists have planned to rally in front of the prison on Thursday in hope of their leader's release.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen reiterated that the recent releases of 15 jailed CNRP members, one former president of minor opposition Khmer Power Party, and four land rights activists were made after they wrote letters to apologize for their mistakes, not because of international pressure.
A series of releases occurred after Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party won all 125 parliamentary seats in the sixth general election last month. Through the triumph, Hun Sen will continue to lead the government for another five years.
A new parliament and a new government will be formed on Sept. 5 and 6, respectively, according to a parliament's statement on Monday.
