The Supreme Court rejected a request to absorb the sentences imposed on Voeung Samnang, a former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) activist convicted in two separate criminal cases, leaving him facing 11 years in prison.

According to information published by LICADHO today, the Supreme Court rejected a request by Samnang’s defence lawyer to have the sentences in the two cases absorbed into a single sentence.

Samnang was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2022, alongside 35 other former CNRP activists, in a case involving charges of conspiracy.

According to LICADHO, evidence cited in the case included social media posts and private conversations discussing former CNRP vice-president Mu Sochua’s unsuccessful attempt to return to Cambodia to face trial in a separate case.

In addition to the five-year prison sentence, Samnang was sentenced to a further six years in prison in another case involving charges of conspiracy. The case was tried in late 2023 and was related to posts on Facebook.

The rejection of the request to absorb the sentences leaves Samnang facing 11 years in prison, according to the report.

LICADHO said Samnang had previously fled to Bangkok, Thailand, as a refugee before Thai authorities arrested him and returned him to Cambodia in November 2021.

LICADHO has also included him among those it records as detained in connection with the exercise of rights, referring to cases of detention linked to activism or the expression of opinions.