A police officer prevented access to a blocked road near the Phnom Penh Appeal Court shortly after Kem Sokha's first appeal hearing on 30 January 2024.

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning held the first trial hearing regarding Kem Sokha’s convictions of treason and conspiracy with a foreign power. Sokha is the former president of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). He was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison by the Municipal Court in March 2023, fewer than five months before Cambodia’s July National Election. Sokha was transferred to house arrest pending exhaustion of any appeals.

During the hearing, Sokha’s lawyers requested that the Appeal Court review the restrictive conditions of his bail. However, the judges declined to overturn the conditions of his supervision.

Prior to the hearing, authorities blocked roads surrounding the Appeal Court, preventing members of the public and the media from accessing the front of the court building. The hearing was attended by representatives from NGOs, embassies, and the United Nations. Representatives from a number of news outlets including Radio France Internationale (RFI), CamboJA, and Voice of America (VOA) were not admitted to the courtroom. Around 100 supporters gathered at the blocked road, while journalists and NGO representatives also waited at the barriers. Deployed mixed uniformed and plainclothes police officers and security guards took photographs and videos of individuals in the area.

The court announced there would be at least nine hearings, on each Thursday of every second week, with the next hearing scheduled for 8 February.