Cambodia opposition party leader Sam Rainsy says he will continue his campaign from France. [Reuters]By Liam Cochrane
Radio Australia News
Cambodia's main opposition leader Sam Rainsy has been convicted on charges of incitement and destruction of property.
He was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail.
The charges relate to an incident in October last year, when Sam Rainsy helped pull wooden markers out of rice paddy near a disputed border with Vietnam.
Several others who assisted in pulling the posts out of a rice paddy also faced charges.
Farmers in the area said the border markers had encroached on Cambodian territory.
The claim taps into long-running concerns about losing land to neighbours.
Speaking from France, Sam Rainsy said he would stay in France and collect more evidence of encroachment.
"Many freedom fighters have to remain free in order to fight for freedom," he said.
He says the Cambodian government has treated his case very differently from the ongoing border stand-off with Thailand, to the north.
"They want to draw the public attention to the problem with Thailand so as to make people forget the problem with Vietnam," he said.
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