The Court of Appeals Wednesday upheld an 18-month sentence leveled at Prince Norodom Ranariddh in absentia for crimes related to embezzlement.
Prince Randariddh has said he was set up in courts controlled by the ruling Cambodian People's Party, and has refused to return to Cambodia until the sentence is lifted. He is running an eponymous party from abroad.
The charges stem from Prince Ranariddh's role as president of the government coalition party, Funcinpec; he was found guilty of selling Funcinpec's headquarters in 2005 and, after his ouster from the party, turning the property into the headquarters for his new party.
