Cheam Yeap says nobody's stopping Sam Rainsy from returning [Mr Cheam Yeap, everybody knows that the Cambodian court is a political tool of the ruling CPP to crack down on critics and the oppositions]

PHNOM PENH, 6 September 2012 (Cambodia Herald) - Senior Cambodian People's Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap  (pictured) said Thursday that nobody was preventing exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy from returning to Cambodia.

"He can come and no-one is banning him from coming but he has to respect the court’s verdict," he said, referring to the prison sentence handed down after his trial in absentia.

Cheam Yeap said the trial was a judicial issue and had nothing to do with politics.

Sam Rainsy, who is believed to reside in France, is expected to join a Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats meeting in in the Philippines next week.

Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua asserted Wednesday that Sam Rainsy was receiving support from foreign leaders and would be able to come to Cambodia for national elections in 2013.