Cambodian prince returns from exile

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodia's Prince Norodom Ranariddh ended 18 months in exile Sunday after his brother the king pardoned him for an embezzlement conviction.

In July, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found the prince guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in prison.

The prince returned home from Malaysia following the royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday.

A lawsuit was filed by his former supporters in the royalist Funcinpec party which Ranariddh led before being ousted from the party in October 2006. The Funcinpec party sued the prince for allegedly embezzling US$3.6 million from the sale of the party's headquarters in August that year.

The prince formed a new political party, the Norodom Ranariddh Party, which won two parliamentary seats in July general elections without him being present.

Over 100 supporters met the prince at the airport in Siem Reap province, home to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples, where he arrived from Malaysia, said party spokesman Suth Dina.

The spokesman said the prince planned to keep a low profile as he contemplates his next political activities.

Ranariddh and Sihamoni are sons of former King Norodom Sihanouk.