Teav Vannol speaks to the media outside Phnom Penh Capital Court after he was questioned by the prosecutor in April 2024.(Supplied)

Candlelight Party President Teav Vannol was convicted of defamation this morning and ordered to pay US$1.5 million in damages to the government for comments he made to the media in February 2024.

The presiding judge at the Phnom Penh Capital Court found Vannol, who was previously a senator with the Sam Rainsy Party, guilty of defamation under Article 305 of the Criminal Code. He was ordered to pay the Cambodian government 6 billion riel ($1.5 million) in compensation and 10 million riel (around $2,500) in fines.

International news outlet Nikkei Asia interviewed Vannol in February while he was traveling in Japan. During the interview, Vannol told Nikkei Asia that human rights had regressed in Cambodia under Prime Minister Hun Manet, who took over from his father Hun Sen in August 2023. The government consequently sued Vannol for the comments and claimed $1.5 million in damages from the party president.

In 2022, former Candlelight Party Vice President Son Chhay was ordered to pay $750,000 in damages to the ruling party for alleging irregularities in the 2022 commune election, and had several properties frozen by the court. The Appeal Court increased the damages to around $1 million and Chhay exhausted his appeals when the Supreme Court upheld the verdict in February 2023.