Deputy opposition CNRP leader Kem Sokha was tried in absentia over an hour-long hearing this morning on charges of refusing a summons to appear in court. The prosecutor requested the court treat this as a flagrant offence, so that Kem Sokha cannot benefit from his parliamentary immunity.

The charges were brought in May after Kem Sokha refused two summons to appear as a witness in a case against two CNRP MPs accused of procurement. Their case, in turn, relates to accusations of prostitution leveled against Srey Mom, a woman with whom Kem Sokha had an alleged affair.

About 200 CNRP supporters gathered outside the court during the trial, with a heavy mixed police presence in the nearby Olympic Stadium. One supporter - a CNRP Phnom Penh treasurer Om Dara - was arrested and brought to 7 Makara police station following a brief scuffle between police and supporters.

At the CNRP headquarters in Phnom Penh, Kem Sokha spoke to about 500 CNRP supporters from across the country who gathered there despite police roadblocks set up yesterday at all the main roads into the city and reports of CNRP supporters blocked from coming to Phnom Penh from Svay Rieng and Kampot.

Update: At 2pm, Kem Sokha was convicted of refusing to appear in court under Article 538 of Cambodia's Criminal Code. Trial judge Keo Mony sentenced him to five months' imprisonment with an 800,000 riel (about $200) fine.