United News of Bangladesh

A court in Cambodia on Friday found Kem Sokha, leader of the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty of treason and sentenced him to 27 years imprisonment to be served under house arrest. Judge Koy Sao of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said Kem Sokha, backed by foreign powers, had used human rights and politics as a guise to organize people to stage a “color revolution” aimed at toppling the legal government. The maximum sentence on the charge is 30 years. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved shortly after his 2017 arrest on related charges. The ruling, four months ahead of a general election, is the latest blow against the opposition, which has faced years of legal harassment from the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Kem Sokha, 69, is the country’s most prominent opposition politician not in exile — others having fled abroad to escape what were generally seen as politically inspired prosecutions. The court said Kem Sokha is barred from all political activity, including voting, and not allowed to meet with outsiders, Cambodian or foreign, except for family members. He may leave the house only with the court's permission. Also Read: Experts say bird flu threat small despite Cambodian fatality His lawyer, Ang Udom, told reporters he will file an appeal within one month. Kem Sokha was head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party when he was arrested in September 2017. The government charged that an old video of him speaking at a seminar about receiving advice from U.S. pro-democracy groups was proof of collusion with a foreign power to illegally take power. His arrest marked the beginning of a fierce campaign by the government to use the courts — widely considered to be under its influence — to silence its critics in the political and media spheres or drive them out of the country. Rights organizations decried Friday's court ruling. “The Cambodian justice system has once again shown its jaw-dropping lack of independence by convicting Kem Sokha on baseless, politically motivated charges,” Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Ming Yu Hah said in an emailed statement. “This verdict is an unmistakable warning to opposition groups months before national elections. The use of the courts to hound opponents of Prime Minister Hun Sen knows no limits.” The United States Embassy in Cambodia also said it was “deeply troubled” by the conviction. U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy, along with representatives of other Western nations, had attended Friday's hearing. “Denying Kem Sokha and other political figures their freedom of expression and association undermines Cambodia’s constitution, international commitments, and past progress to develop as a pluralist and inclusive society,” said the U.S. statement, emailed to journalists. Kem Sokha’s trial started in January 2020 but was soon suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and resumed in 2022. The popular CNRP was seen as an electoral threat to Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party ahead of the 2018 general election. Kem Sokha’s arrest was swiftly followed by the dissolution of the party by the Supreme Court in November 2017, after the government accused it of plotting its overthrow. The CNRP had been the only credible opponent of Hun Sen’s party, which consequently swept all the seats in the National Assembly. Rights groups and Western nations charged that the election was neither free nor fair. Crackdowns continued even after the 2018 polls, as more than 100 former CNRP members and civil society activists were targeted with the charge "incitement to commit a felony” for their nonviolent political activities. Hun Sen’s 2023 election opponents have come under similar pressure. In October, Son Chhay, a deputy president of the Candlelight Party — the CNRP's de facto successor — was fined the equivalent of $750,000 for remarks he made alleging unfairness and irregularities in the 2022 local elections. Thach Setha, another of the party’s leaders, was arrested in January for allegedly issuing several bounced checks in 2019. Hun Sen has been in power for 38 years and has vowed to stay in office until 2028. He has endorsed one of his sons to succeed him. He uses guile and threats to exercise authoritarian power in the framework of electoral democracy. Kem Sokha was released from prison on bail in September 2018, more than a year after he was arrested, and put under house arrest. In November 2019, he was freed from house arrest but still banned from political activity. The co-founder of the CNRP, Sam Rainsy, has been in self-imposed exile since 2015, avoiding prison for a defamation conviction along with a slew of other legal charges brought by the government. As in Kem Sokha’s case, the charges are widely seen as politically motivated. Sam Rainsy was the de facto leader of the party while Kem Sokha was in prison before his release on bail. Tensions grew between supporters of the two opposition leaders because some felt Kem Sokha faced more pressure from Hun Sen’s government while Sam Rainsy was free in exile. The legal actions against Kem Sokha were widely seen as encouraging a split between the two. Hun Sen is an adroit political operator, and has a record of using divide-and-conquer tactics against his foes. Kem Sokha’s political career began in 1993 when Cambodia held an election organized by the United Nations after more than two decades of war and unrest, and he was elected to the National Assembly. He established the independent Cambodian Center for Human Rights in 2002. Rejoining politics in 2005, he founded the Human Rights Party, which finished third in the 2008 general election. In 2012, that party merged with Sam Rainsy’s original Candlelight Party to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which captured 55 seats out of 123 at stake in the 2013 election.

Opposition Leader Raushon Ershad on Friday was taken to the Thai capital of Bangkok for better medical treatment. She was taken by an air ambulance at 6:25pm where she will be admitted to the Bumrungrad Hospital, her assistant private secretary Md Mamum Hasan told UNB. Read: People need to be informed about Covid variants: Raushon Jatiya Party chief patron Raushon is accompanied by Rahgir Almahe Ershad MP (Rangpur-3) and his wife Mahima Ershad. Raushon Ershad, 78, had been under treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) as she fell ill seriously due to old age complications several months ago.

Opposition leader Raushan Ershad on Sunday greeted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha that is set to be celebrated on July 21. Prime minister's protocol officer-2 M Abu Jafar Raju received the greetings card on her behalf from Raushan's private secretary AKM Abdur Rahim Bhuiyan. Also read: Zilhajj moon sighted; Eid-ul-Azha on July 21 On July 6, Sheikh Hasina sent Eid greetings cards to the opposition leader in the parliament Raushan Ershad and Jatiya Party Chairman and deputy opposition leader GM Quader. The Zilhajj moon was sighted in Bangladesh today and the month of Zilhajj will begin from July 12.

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushon Ershad on Sunday urged the government to employ its maximum energy and strength to tackle the rapid surge in coronavirus infections. “Experts fear the situation will be dire the way corona infection is growing. Hospitals mow can’t accommodate patients. Under such a situation, it’s very difficult to control the virus spread,” she said. Delivering her valedictory speech at the 12th session of the 11th parliament, Raushon said the corona-testing capacity should be increased further as people now cannot undergo tests after waiting for hours. Also read: Perform duties properly to enforce Corona directives: PM “The facilities for isolation must be enhanced. Maximum strength must be employed to tackle the corona infections,” she added. The opposition leader deplored that people are showing apathy to health safety rules amid the spike in the Covid cases in Bangladesh. “There’s hardly any caution among people. The 18-point directive announced by the government is barely followed. People don't wear masks. They get annoyed if they’re given sanitiser. Many people are walking around the book fair without masks,” Raushon observed. She appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her untiring efforts to control the coronavirus outbreak.  “The Prime Minister has been working round the clock to prevent the corona infections. What will be the outcome, if we don’t be cautious?” Also read: Raushon gives credit to JaPa for country’s progress The opposition leader said people need to be cautious and provide the government with all-out cooperation by maintaining its directives to slow down the virus transmission. She said Bangladesh has got the status of a developing country while the country’s GDP growth rate has marked a significant rise. “The average life expectancy has increased over the few years. Metrorail is being constructed for the development of public transport and the construction of Padma Bridge is nearing completion. The standard of living has also improved. But inequality has increased seriously,” Rahuson said. She said instability and people’s sense of insecurity have increased, too.” We still couldn’t ensure safe food for people. Three lakh people are getting infected with various diseases every year by consuming adulterated food,” she lamented. Also read: Those who wanted to erase Bangabandhu's name have been wiped out of history: Raushon Ershad

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó pushed through rows of national guardsmen blocking congress to retake his seat on Tuesday, and in a darkened building with no power he pledged to press forward in his bid to topple the country's socialist president.

Clashes broke out in the streets of Bolivia's capital Tuesday evening when an opposition leader in the Senate declared herself the country's interim president after Evo Morales fled to Mexico following his surprise weekend resignation.

New Delhi, Aug 22 (AP/UNB) — Federal investigators on Wednesday arrested a key opposition Indian National Congress party leader at his home in the Indian capital in a suspected money laundering case.