A garment worker was arrested Wednesday on incitement charges over a social media post critical of a union president, sparking outrage among labor activists who called the move unjust and unprecedented.
Pich Piseth, an employee at Men Ou garment factory and president of its workers’ union, is being held in Phnom Penh after his transfer from Sihanoukville, where authorities detained him following a complaint by Sok Kin, president of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC) and chair of the Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC).
Piseth had commented on a Facebook post by Sok Kin, criticizing him for failing to stand up for workers and praising jailed unionist Morn Rithy.
His wife, Keo Phea, told CamboJA News she was worried about Piseth’s safety and urged Sok Kin to withdraw the complaint and authorities to release him. She said Piseth is the family’s breadwinner, supporting five children.
Rights groups have long criticized Cambodia’s use of incitement charges as politically motivated and gratuitous, often deployed to silence activists, journalists and dissent.
Ek Sopheakdey, president of the AI Coalition, told CamboJA News it was unreasonable for a union leader to sue a factory worker over a critical Facebook comment. He said unions should focus on protecting workers’ interests, negotiating wages and defending union rights, not pursuing incitement cases.
Sopheakdey said the arrest warrant against Piseth was serious but lacked legal basis, describing his post as an expression of opinion.
It was unclear how Kin’s complaint so quickly led to Piseth’s arrest. Authorities declined to comment. The unions Kin leads are seen as politically independent, though both BWTUC and CLC generally avoid political issues beyond labor rights.
Kin told CamboJA News by phone he did not have a close relationship with Piseth but could not accept the reputational damage of his comment.
“I am not happy when he committed such an assault on me like that. I need to protect my fame and reputation,” Kin said, adding he intends to proceed with the lawsuit.
“Workers have the right to express their opinions, and this is a big problem, arresting him. I’m so speechless, I don’t know what to say. The subject of the lawsuit is wrong, and no union has ever sued another union and put them in jail. This is the first time I’ve seen this,” Sopheakdey said.
