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Union leader Morm Rithy has launched a fundraiser to pay a court fine linked to his imprisonment in a case fellow unionists condemned as unjust, months after his release from prison late last year.
Rithy was convicted in 2024 on incitement charges linked to a lawsuit involving the Jin Bei Group, a casino conglomerate in the coastal city of Sihanoukville sanctioned by the United States over alleged ties to online scam operations and human trafficking.
Cambodian authorities have since suspended licenses at several Jin Bei-linked casinos over regulatory violations and suspected scam activity.
Rithy, president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation, served more than a year in prison for an incitement conviction over a social media post criticizing the treatment of a worker at Jin Bei 2 Casino. He unsuccessfully appealed his 18-month sentence and 2 million riel ($500) fine before being released late last year.
“I am fundraising because my family fell into financial hardship while I was behind bars for 18 months,” Rithy said.
Since his release, Rithy said he has been unemployed and helps his wife run a noodle shop in Siem Reap province. He said his wife took out bank and private loans to support their children during his imprisonment, leaving the family struggling to keep up with monthly repayments.
Rithy said the fundraiser reached its target within two days.
Y Rin, spokesperson for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court that sentenced Rithy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, welcomed the fundraiser and said Rithy had supported workers’ rights.
“We want to see laws applied fairly and justice delivered to victims,” she said. “We do not want to see the law used to serve powerful people.”
Sophorn said union leaders and activists in Cambodia continued to face difficulties accessing justice.
Union leaders in Cambodia have increasingly faced criminal charges and imprisonment in recent years, drawing criticism from rights groups. Other recent cases include union leader Pich Piseth, who was sentenced earlier this year to two years in prison for “incitement to discriminate” over a social media comment posted on another unionist’s page.
