THE leader of Cambodia’s now dissolved opposition party was released on bail yesterday after being jailed for a year on a treason charge.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court said that Kem Sokha was granted bail due to health reasons. It stressed that the case against him would proceed.

He was returned in the predawn hours to his Phnom Penh home, where hundreds of supporters gathered later in the morning.

The action was the latest in a series of releases of government critics that follow the landslide victory of Prime Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party in a July general election.

Hun Sen, who has held power for more than three decades, has a history of cracking down hard on his foes when he is challenged, then easing up when the threat has passed.

Last year’s crackdown came as his party looked vulnerable for this year’s polls.

Kem Sokha’s opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party had made a strong performance in 2017’s local elections, building on its surprisingly strong challenge in the 2013 general election. (SD-Agencies)