Cambodian opposition member freed

Cheam Channy was accused of trying to topple the government

A top Cambodian opposition politician has been freed from jail after serving just one year of a seven-year term.

Cheam Channy's release comes a day after both he and opposition leader Sam Rainsy received royal pardons.

Analysts hope the move is a sign that tensions between Prime Minister Hun Sen and his political rivals are easing.

But the BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says a forthcoming meeting with Cambodia's major donor countries may have influenced events.

The international community has been highly critical of recent crackdowns by Hun Sen's government, including the sentences against Mr Rainsy and other opposition politicians.

'Extremely delighted'

Cheam Channy, a former lawmaker and member of the Sam Rainsy Party, was arrested in February 2005 and found guilty of trying to form an illegal armed group to topple the government.

He was sentenced to seven years in jail, but served only one before his release on Monday.

Sam Rainsy has also been pardoned

"I feel extremely delighted," Cheam Channy told supporters from inside a car as he was driven outside the prison gates.

His release was widely expected after Hun Sen recommended last week that both he and the Sam Rainsy be given a royal pardon by King Norodom Sihamoni.

The catalyst for the pardons appears to have been a letter that Mr Rainsy sent to the prime minister on Friday.

In it he apologised for linking Hun Sen to a fatal grenade attack on a Sam Rainsy Party rally nine years ago.

He also indicated he would be less abrasive towards the government in future.

The move clears the way for Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia after a year-long exile.

In December, a court sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in jail for defaming the leaders of the governing coalition.

The pardons have capped a remarkable change in the political atmosphere in Cambodia, our correspondent says.

The turn of the year was marked by the arrests of several human rights activists, but over the past two weeks Hun Sen has asked for the charges to be dropped and arranged for the release from jail of several government critics.