Chao Veasna, the head of Candlelight Party’s Poipet Municipal branch and steering committee member. Photo from his Facebook.

The Supreme Court has upheld the verdicts issued by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court on 7 February 2024 and Battambang Appeal Court on 12 June 2024 in the case of Chao Veasna, the head of Candlelight Party’s Poipet Municipal branch and steering committee member.

Veasna, 59, was sentenced to three years in prison, fined 6 million riels, and ordered to pay 80 million riels (approximately $20,000) in compensation to the civil plaintiff. Additionally, he has been deprived of political rights for five years. These charges stem from accusations of "incitement to commit a felony" and "incitement to discriminate," under Articles 495 and 496 of the Criminal Code. The charges were related to an incident on 23 July 2023, when Veasna allegedly encouraged voters to invalidate their ballots as protest for the arbitrary exclusion of the Candlelight in that year’s national assembly election.

Veasna was arrested two days after posting a photo of his spoiled ballot on social media. This arrest followed his release in February 2022 after serving a five-year sentence for multiple prior convictions. At the time of his arrest, Veasna had previously served as an elected commune chief and was a member of the former opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

Reports have indicated that Veasna has been suffering from serious medical conditions since November 2023, requiring treatment outside of prison. Although his condition has significantly worsened since July 2024, the court did not provide significant attention to his medical issues during the proceedings.