The report said there had been an increase in political prisoners, which is linked to the criminalizing of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, forcing its supporters and activists to live in fear or flee the country.
The court has resumed the trial hearing Thursday morning, where the judges will delve into Kem Sokha's work from 2008 till he was arrested in 2017.
Journalists have so far relied on short comments from government and defense lawyers when the court is in recess, but have lacked a lot of critical details about the two days of hearings.
Kem Sokha also recounted that he questioned the court on his treason charge saying that the Criminal Code was enforced in 2010, but that his alleged crimes were, according to the court, dating back to 1993.
The opposition leader attended both sessions of the hearing and will return to court on Thursday, rounding up this week’s hearings.
After the two-minute edited clip was played in court, Kem Sokha, responding to queries from the panel of three judges, said that the video did not belong to him, but that he was the person who was speaking in the clip.
Two and half years after he was first arrested, Kem Sokha will face a panel of three judges on a treason charge, widely considered to be frivolous.
The Prime Minister on Tuesday marked 35 years as the head of the government, extending his lead as one of the longest-serving prime ministers in the world.
The U.S. has consistently raised concerns over the possible stationing of Chinese military and naval assets at Ream, following a news report from the Wall Street Journal that the Chinese and Cambodian governments had reached a “secret deal” to give the former access to the base.
The government issued the directive on January 10, a week after the Kep building collapse that killed 36 people, including six children.
The prolonged trial would take it past the February 12 deadline for the European Commission to submit its final report on whether to suspend the ‘Everything But Arms’ trade preferences.
Last week, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said the courtroom for Kem Sokha’s trial can hold only 30 people.
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