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One of Cambodia's leading opposition politicians could face prison next week after an acrimonious legal battle with the Prime Minister.

Mu Sochua is a former Minister for Women's Affairs who turned against the government in 2004.

Her campaigns for women's rights have won her international recognition and she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Most recently she has been embroiled in a defamation case with the Prime Minister, Hu Sen.

On 2 June she faces a final ruling in a court case that could see her jailed for refusing to pay a $4000 fine, imposed when the court ruled against her in August 2009.

Like many thousands of other people, Mu Sochua fled from Cambodia when the brutal Pol Pot regime came to power in the 1970s.

She started a new life in the United States, and it was 18 years until she returned to her home country.

When Matthew Bannister spoke to Mu Sochua on the line from Phnom Penh, she told him more about her decision to leave Cambodia.

Mu Sochua filed a defamation case against the Prime Minister Hu Sen.

In April 2009, Mr Hu made a speech in her constituency that referred to an unnamed woman MP, using a very offensive term which translates as a "hustler".

While the speech did not mention her by name, as the only female politician in the region Sochua says she had little doubt that the comment was aimed at her.

She decided to sue the Prime Minister for defamation - a case she lost, appealed against, and lost again.

The Prime Minister counter-sued and the court ruled against Sochua, fining her $4000 - a fine she has refused to pay.

The final ruling in the case takes place on 2 June.

The Cambodian government says that it is merely following the law and that it has no say in the outcome.

International observers suggest that the Cambodian judiciary is weak and subject to political interference.

Matthew Bannister asked Sochua about the case and if she was prepared to go to jail if the judgement went against her.