PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court on Thursday upheld the treason conviction and 27-year prison sentence for opposition leader Kem Sokha, whose 2017 arrest opened a broad government crackdown on political opponents in the country.
The Phnom Penh Appeals Court also barred Kem Sokha from leaving the country for five years after he finishes his sentence, which he is serving under house arrest.
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Am Sam Ath, center, monitoring manager of LICADHO, a human rights organization, speaks to journalists after a court session of former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha outside an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Journalists photograph after a court session of former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha outside an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Journalists try to photograph as a vehicle which is believed to carry former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha heads out from an appeals court after the court session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian police vehicle which is believed to carry former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha heads out from an appeals court after a court session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodia has long been accused of using the judicial system to persecute critics and political opponents. The government insists it promotes the rule of law under an electoral democracy, but political parties seen as potential rivals have been dissolved by the courts or had their leaders jailed or harassed.
Kem Sokha, 72, was convicted in 2023 following a long pretrial detention. He was accused of conspiring with the United States to topple the Cambodian government. The primary evidence against him was a video of him discussing political advice from U.S.-based pro-democracy groups.
His Cambodia National Rescue Party had been the only credible opponent of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, but it was dissolved by the Supreme Court after his arrest and was unable to contest the 2018 election.
The party of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen subsequently swept all the seats in the National Assembly. His son, Hun Manet, succeeded him in the position in 2023 but has not liberalized the system.
Speaking before the appeals court earlier this month, Kem Sokha declared he had never conspired with any foreign country at the cost of the lives of Cambodian citizens or the loss of national territory and that he had acted in a spirit of nonviolence and national unity.
His lawyer, Pheng Heng, told reporters he regretted the court’s decision and that he and his client would have to decide whether to appeal further to the Supreme Court. He urged the government to promote national reconciliation.
Western embassies in Cambodia expressed concern over the ruling.
“We would like to see Kem Sokha released and his political freedoms restored,” the British Embassy said in a statement. “ We believe this would help strengthen democracy in Cambodia.”
In a separate political case, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday convicted 33 people involved in opposition to a controversial border development agreement. Those convicted included social media users, opposition politicians and political activists.
The Cambodia human rights organization Licadho reported they were convicted of incitement to commit a felony -- a broad-brush charge often used in political cases -- and received punishment ranging from 18-month suspended sentences to two-years imprisonment as well as fines of $1,000.
Son Chumchuon, a lawyer for six of the defendants, said Thursday that those who received the longest sentences were likely to be released soon because of time already served in pretrial detention.
The 33 had been linked to protests against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area, a framework established in 2004 to coordinate trade and migration among the three Southeast Asian neighbors.
Critics of the pact claimed it favored foreign interests and granted valuable land concessions to Vietnam, a sensitive issue because of historical antagonism toward Cambodia’s bigger eastern neighbor.
Cambodia withdrew from the agreement in 2024 but continued its clampdown on critics, making more than 100 arrests.
Peck reported from Bangkok.
Am Sam Ath, center, monitoring manager of LICADHO, a human rights organization, speaks to journalists after a court session of former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha outside an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Journalists photograph after a court session of former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha outside an appeals court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Journalists try to photograph as a vehicle which is believed to carry former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha heads out from an appeals court after the court session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian police vehicle which is believed to carry former Cambodia National Rescue Party's President Kem Sokha heads out from an appeals court after a court session in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That “tollbooth” effort is the focus of the U.S. sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn U.S. and non-U.S. persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
The U.S. responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The U.S. Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
The warning came as U.S. President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It’s a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America’s Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the war, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU’s Gulf partners.
Iran on Saturday said it hanged two men convicted of spying for Israel.
The Iranian judiciary's news outlet, Mizanonline, identified the men as Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh. It said they were hanged after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier death sentences.
The news outlet said Karimpour was accused of sending “sensitive information” to an officer in Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, while Bekrzadeh was alleged to have sent details about government and religious leaders as well as information about Natanz. The central Iranian city is home to a nuclear enrichment facility bombed by Israel and the U.S. last year.
Iran has hanged more than a dozen people over alleged espionage and terrorist activities in recent weeks.
Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue,” as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan’s efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the U.S. and Israel.”
Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in Washington, Nasser Karimi in Tehran and Edith Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report
A tanker, left, and a car carrier are anchored at sea in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from the coast near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Cargo ships are seen at sea near the Strait of Hormuz, as viewed from a rocky shoreline near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Men gather along the shore, some crouching and watching a game, as a mix of bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026.(Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
A man stands in the water, appearing to fish, as bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026.(Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
