A disabled man convicted of incitement for comments he posted on Facebook about Prime Minister Hun Manet was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Tuesday.
Phon Yuth, who has never had use of his legs and uses a wheelchair, was arrested in March after he posted and shared several messages that criticized the existence of undocumented Vietnamese people living in Cambodia.
He also posted comments about a Cambodian businessman who was accused of cheating people out of their money and mentioned Senate President Hun Sen in other posts that were published just months after Hun Sen stepped down as prime minister.
The resignation in August 2023 paved the way for his son, Hun Manet, to be appointed to the position.
“I want a new leader,” Phon Yuth wrote in one message earlier this year.
The 40-year-old was held without trial in southern Takeo province until this week. His wife, Mom Vith, told Radio Free Asia in September that the provincial court repeatedly extended his detention while delaying scheduled court hearings.
“Don’t leave him and abandon him in jail quietly and indefinitely like that,” she said.
After Tuesday’s sentencing, Phon Yuth was returned to Takeo Provincial Prison.
The harsh sentence could further dampen the exercise of freedom of speech in Cambodia, said Kim Piseth, a senior investigator for human rights group Adhoc.
“In this case, the authorities should have set up an investigation into the concerns, rather than blaming the people’s expression,” he said. “It doesn’t have any positive impact for people to express themselves.”
Phun Yuth was previously jailed for five months in 2019 on charges of incitement and publicly insulting officials after he criticized the government’s inaction and demanded Hun Sen’s resignation.
RFA was unable to reach court spokesman Nget Davuth for comment.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.