Son Chhay, former vice president of Cambodia’s Candlelight opposition party, plans to sell his house to pay court-ordered compensation to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

The court order that he pay $1 million in damages simply for having criticized the conduct of Cambodia’s local elections in June 2022 is the latest example of the weaponization of the country’s politically controlled courts.

Cambodia’s courts regularly come near the bottom of global rankings of judicial corruption and independence. Rather than attempting to jail a high-profile political figure such as Son Chhay, the government is threatening to bankrupt him in a bid to ensure his silence.