*The United States urged the authorities to drop charges against opposition leader Sam Rainsy*
*US raises alarm over Cambodia opposition crackdown* *http://news.yahoo.com/us-raises-alarm-over-cambodia-opposition-crackdown-234548038.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=ma* <http://news.yahoo.com/us-raises-alarm-over-cambodia-opposition-crackdown-234548038.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=ma> [image: AFP] <http://www.afp.com/> 6 hours ago [image: Cambodia's main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy arrives at a conference room to speak to the press in Tokyo on November 10, 2015] <http://news.yahoo.com/us-raises-alarm-over-cambodia-opposition-crackdown-234548038.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=ma#> Cambodia's main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy arrives at a conference room to speak to the press in Tokyo on November 10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno) The United States expressed alarm about the political crisis in Cambodia on Friday and urged the authorities to drop charges against opposition leader Sam Rainsy. A Cambodian court issued an arrest warrant against Rainsy over an unserved defamation sentence Friday, in what many saw as a power play by Prime Minister Hun Sen's supporters. This came after Hun Sen threatened Rainsy with legal action for urging the international community to pressure him to exit the office he has held for more than three decades. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the deteriorating political climate in Cambodia "includes assaults against two opposition lawmakers and now the arrest warrant against opposition leader Sam Rainsy." "The timing of these charges gives the appearance of undue political influence in the judicial process. "More broadly the pattern of actions against the opposition suggest a return to the harsh political practices and tactics that the Cambodian people have made make clear they no longer want," he told reporters in Washington. Rainsy was sentenced for defamation in a 2011 case, while he was living outside Cambodia, for accusing the country's foreign minister of being a former Khmer Rouge member. It was one of a string of convictions against the opposition leader, the main challenge to Hun Sen's powerful grip over the country. Rainsy insists the convictions were politically motivated and he returned to Cambodia ahead of 2013 elections only after receiving a royal pardon. -- Best Regards, *Khmer Forum* *A place for sharing community events and public news.* -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to camdisc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to camdisc-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to camdisc+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
