A Cambodian court has charged seven top opposition politicians with plotting armed rebellion for planning to return from self-imposed exile to seek a government change through mass peaceful protests.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court also warned that anyone who supported the plans of the Cambodia National Rescue Party to oust the government would also be risking a long prison term.

The court’s announcement is the latest salvo in a political battle that has heated up after opposition leader Sam Rainsy announced plans to return from more than three years of exile on Nov. 9 to seek a “restoration of democracy.”

The opposition party was dissolved by the courts ahead of last year’s general election, ensuring that an increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen continued his four decades in power.

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