The Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court on Monday in a case dating back to 2014 which convicted 10 people after a nationwide garment workers’ strike to demand higher minimum wage.
Presiding Judge Nil Non who read out the verdict, dismissed the appeal filed by Vorn Pao, president of Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), noting that the lower court decided the matter correctly.
It follows Phnom Penh Court of Appeal’s September 2023 ruling which upheld the decision by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in 2014, which convicted 10 persons for instigating violence with aggravating circumstances. They were sentenced to four years and six months, but the sentence was suspended.
Following that, Pao filed an appeal against the matter to the Appeals Court, and later the Supreme Court.
Pao could not be reached for comment after the apex court ruling but told reporters at his hearing on September 2 this year that he did not take part in the demonstration at Veng Sreng Street on January 3 and 4, 2014.
“I’ve been seeking justice for 10 years now, and think that it is time the Supreme Court rendered justice to me by acquitting me of the charges, so that I can live in the country as an honest citizen. I did nothing wrong,” he said.
One of his lawyers, Son Chum Choun, expressed disappointment after the highest court rejected his client‘s appeal.
“As his lawyers, we are saddened by the Supreme Court’s decision because based on the filed case, he should not be sentenced,” he said.
“[We] noticed that the facts were exaggerated in the lower court, which charged him with instigating violence with aggravating circumstances. We think that they are not related [to the charge],” Chum Choun said, declining to explain further.
It was previously mentioned by his lawyers that Pao attended the January 2, 2014 protest but not those on January 3 and 4 when an alleged clash took place between the protesters and the authorities. The lawyers alleged that Pao’s involvement was an “exaggeration” by the other party.
Meanwhile, Cheng Penghab, who represented the government, only said, “The court decided fairly and rendered justice to my client”.
NGO rights group Licadho operations director Am Sam Ath echoed defense lawyer Chum Choun in saying that Vorn Pao was “victimized” and “seriously injured” after he was allegedly beaten up during arrest. He said there was “no justice, instead the court upheld the guilty verdict”.
“This is a message to intimidate activists who have defended the rights of workers or labor rights,” he said.
Ten people were arrested in January 2014 during a protest outside the South Korean Yakyin factory in Phnom Penh’s Por Senchey district where demonstrators called for higher wages. At the time, the military officers from the Special Force Airborne 911 unit guarding the factory were alleged to have provoked clashes with protesters.
