Cambodia has been an autocracy ever since Hun seized power in a coup d’état in 1997, but it is apparently looking to change that image. On Monday, the president announced that he would be freeing Kem**** from house arrest, barely a month after an appeals court upheld the conviction against him – one that carried a 27-year sentence. The move is reportedly an effort to repair frayed ties with the West, as the Southeast Asian country looks to hedge against its long-term ally China.
