James Ricketson, 69, was arrested in June last year after he flew a drone over a rally held by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue party (CNRP), which was effectively banned months later. Ricketson was sentenced in late August. Cambodia: Hun Sen re-elected in landslide victory after brutal crackdown Read more“Convict James Stanforth Ricketson is pardoned,” said the royal decree, which was signed by the acting head of state, Say Chhum. The prosecution had accused Ricketson of working as a filmmaker in Cambodia for years as a front for espionage, but the verdict did not mention for which country he was alleged to have been spying. After the vote Hun Sen, who has been in power for more than three decades, returned to a pattern of easing up on dissent.

Source: The Guardian September 21, 2018 12:05 UTC