Fugitive Cambodian opposition senator arrested

Fugitive Cambodian opposition senator Hong Sok Hour, who is wanted for allegations of "treason," was arrested on Saturday, three days after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the arrest, an opposition spokesman confirmed.

"He (Hong Sok Hour) was arrested by police at 6:00 a.m. (local time) at a villa in Phnom Penh's Sen Sok district," opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party spokesman Ou Chanrith told Xinhua via telephone.

A video clip posted on a well-known Khmer website DAP News showed that the senator was escorted by heavy security forces out of a villa into a waiting police car.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police chief Chuon Sovann said that police officers would question the senator first before sending him to the court.

Hong Sok Hour, who holds both Cambodian and French citizenship, had been in hiding since Thursday after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered police to arrest him for alleged treason over a fake treaty that the senator posted on Facebook on Wednesday related to the Cambodia and Vietnam border.

The arrest was made even though the senator announced on Facebook late Friday that he would turn himself in to the police on Monday, Aug. 17.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, in a speech at a university graduation ceremony on Thursday, said the senator had committed a "national treason." He also called on foreign missions in the country not to "accept this person."