Cambodian Prince Found Guilty of Plotting Coup

A military court today convicted deposed co-premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh of plotting a coup with Khmer Rouge rebels and sentenced him to 30 years in jail.

The verdict was widely expected. Under a Japanese-sponsored peace plan, the prince is to be pardoned by his father, King Norodom Sihanouk, and allowed to run in July elections. Ranariddh is in Bangkok, Thailand, and did not attend the trial.

The prince, ousted as first prime minister last July by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, and three aides were charged with causing instability, disobeying the orders of a superior and commanding illegal armed forces. The court ordered the defendants to pay $54 million in damages.

Ranariddh denied the charges against him and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court. But both he and Hun Sen have agreed to the Japanese peace plan.