A Cambodian court sentenced a prominent union leader and government critic to two years in prison on 18 August 2021.
Rong Chhun, the president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), was arrested at his home in July 2020 after claiming that the demarcation of the border between Cambodia and Vietnam had stripped several farmers of their land. He was charged with “incitement to commit a felony or cause social unrest”.
Commentators believe his long record of activism, notably his defence of garment workers’ rights, explains why he was given the maximum sentence, as well as a fine of two million riels (US$490). Rong Chhun is also a member of the Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC), an umbrella NGO of unions representing teachers, workers, farmers, and students – hence, his defence of farmers’ interests in the border dispute.
Rong Chhun and two other labour fellow labour rights advocates, Sar Kanika and Ton Nimol, were freed on appeal on 11 November 2021. The Phnom Penh Appeals Court dropped the remainder of the sentences against them, but they all remained on probation and faced restrictions related to travel and other activities for three years.
