PHNOM PENH, Dec. 23 (FN) -- A Cambodian appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction against opposition lawmaker Um Sam An for Facebook posts accusing the Cambodian government of using fake border maps with Vietnam.

After a half-day trial, Appeals Court judge Seng Sivutha announced that the court decided to uphold the Phnom Penh Municipal Court's verdict on Oct. 10, 2016 that convicted Sam An and sentenced him to two and a half years in prison.

Sam An, 40, lawmaker for the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was arrested midnight on April 10 after returning from months in exile in the United States.

He was charged with "incitement to commit crimes causing turmoil for social security and incitement to cause racial discrimination."

Last month, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court also sentenced opposition senator Hong Sok Hour to seven years in jail for forgery and incitement after the 59-year-old senator posted to Facebook in August 2015 a fake version of a border treaty between Cambodia and Vietnam.