The
Observatory has been informed about the upholding of the convictions
and prison sentences against eight current and former leaders and
members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of
NagaWorld (LRSU) casino, including Ms Chhim
Sithar,
union leader and LRSU President, as well as the ongoing arbitrary
detention of the latter.
On
October 19, 2023, the Phnom Penh Court of Appeals upheld in full the
judgement issued by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on May 25, 2023,
which found Ms Sithar, Ms Chhim
Sokhorn,
Ms Hay
Sopheap,
Ms Kleang
Soben,
Ms Sun
Srey Pich,
Ms Touch
Sereymeas,
Ms Ry
Sovandy,
and Mr Sok
Narith
guilty of “incitement” under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal
Code of Cambodia, in relation to a series of LRSU’s strikes that
started in Phnom Penh in December 2021.
The
initial
sentences,
imposed by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and appealed by the eight
defenders, were as follows: Ms Sithar was sentenced to the maximum
penalty of two years in prison; Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap, Kleang
Soben, Sun Srey Pich, and Touch Sereymeas were sentenced to one year
and six months in prison, but were not imprisoned and remain under
judicial supervision until a final verdict is reached; Ry Sovandy and
Sok Narith were sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term.
In
addition, Mr Sok
Kongkea,
a ninth member of LRSU, who had also been sentenced to a one-year
suspended prison term without being detained on May 25, 2023, did not
appeal the lower court’s judgement.
At
the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Ms Sithar remained
arbitrarily detained in Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) in Phnom Penh,
where she has been held since November 26, 2022 with regular access
to her lawyers. She and at least six of the other seven co-defendants
will lodge an appeal before the Supreme Court of Cambodia against the
appeal judgement.
The
Observatory recalls that in April 2021, Naga Corp., which operates
the NagaWorld casino, dismissed 1,329 employees of the casino,
including many union members, allegedly due to the financial
consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since December 2021, LRSU
members have been leading regular strikes on weekly basis in Phnom
Penh demanding the reinstatement of the dismissed employees and
respect for their labour rights. The authorities responded to these
strikes by beating, arresting, and assaulting strikers, and sexually
harassing female striking workers.
On
January 4, 2022, Ms Sithar was violently arrested by plainclothes
police officers while she attempted to join a strike by the NagaWorld
casino workers, initiated by LRSU in Phnom Penh. Ms Sithar was
charged with “incitement” and remanded in pre-trial detention at
CC2, until her release on bail on March 14, 2022.
The
Observatory further recalls that on November 26, 2022, Ms Sithar was
arbitrarily
rearrested
by immigration police officers at Phnom Penh International Airport
upon her return from a trip
to Australia,
where she attended the International Trade Union Confederation World
Conference. Ms Sithar was accused of violating her judicial
supervision, which the Phnom Penh Municipal Court claimed prohibited
her from leaving the country. However, upon her release in March
2022, neither Ms Sithar nor her lawyers were informed that any
judicial supervision, such as travel restrictions, was imposed on
her, and she had travelled abroad two other times since her release
on bail without incident before being rearrested. Ms Sithar was then
transferred to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which ordered her
immediate pre-trial detention in CC2.
In
addition to Ms Sithar and the eight other co-defendants in the
“incitement” case, many other LRSU leaders and members have faced
legal reprisals in connection with their labour rights actions.
Another six union members were charged in February 2022 with
“obstruction of enforcement measures” under Article 11 of
Cambodia’s Law on Preventive Measures Against the Spread of
Covid-19 and Other Severe and Dangerous Contagious Diseases – a law
which has been repeatedly used to criminalise the actions of the
striking workers.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the upholding of the convictions and
prison sentences against Chhim Sithar, Chhim Sokhorn, Hay Sopheap,
Kleang Soben, Sun Srey Pich, Touch Sereymeas, Ry Sovandy and Sok
Narith, which seem to be only aimed at punishing them for their
peaceful and legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory
urges the Cambodian authorities to quash their convictions and to put
an end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level,
against them, all other union leaders and members, and all other
human rights defenders in the country.
The
Observatory further condemns the ongoing arbitrary detention of Chhim
Sithar, and urges the Cambodian authorities to immediately and
unconditionally release her.
Lastly,
the Observatory condemns the attacks against labour rights defenders
and urges the Cambodian authorities to guarantee in all circumstances
labour rights in the country, including the right to strike, as
enshrined in international human rights law and particularly in
Articles 6 to 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, to which Cambodia is a state party.
|