[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Their fax numbers and postal addresses are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]
10 August 2006
[RE: UA-229-2006: CAMBODIA: Government’s alleged attack on three labour union activists]
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CAMBODIA: Attacks on workers; unfair trial; partiality of the judiciary; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that three union activists, who were arrested on 3 July 2006 on charges of the illegal confinement of Chinese staff at a factory, were convicted by the Kandal Provincial Court on 7 August 2006. They are Mrs. Lach Sambo, president, Miss Gneom Khun, general treasurer, and Mr. Sal Koemsan, activist, of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC). They were all working at the Jenchou Inn Factory located at Kanthouk commune, Angsnoul district, Kandal province, Cambodia (To see our original appeal on this case, please go to: UA-229-2006). The court reportedly found them guilty without any sufficient evidence. Furthermore, the court process was biased.
The above three union activists, who had been arrested on 3 July 2006 for the alleged illegal confinement of 24 Chinese staff were tried at the Kandal Provincial Court. On August 7, the court sentenced them to three-year imprisonment with one month and four days of the sentence served and the rest suspended. The three labour unionists were actually released the day after the judgment as they had been detained for one month and four days in prison.
The AHRC criticizes the judgment as a compromise to defuse mounting pressure from 70,000 of the three activists’ fellow workers, and labour rights supporters. It was also designed to please both parties but more so the beneficiaries to the company. The local activists said that the court sentenced them to one month and four days in prison, exactly the same duration that the accused had served in prison in order to please the workers who would be happy to see the release of the three unionists.
At the same time, eight factory workers including the three unionists cannot go back to the factory as the court conviction validated their dismissal from the company. As a result, the judgment was used to suppress and destroy the union activities in the factory. The factory owner had earlier dismissed eight workers on June 23 accusing them of alleged damage to the factory during a previous strike in August 2004. The owner’s action was also taken into account following the court’s judgment on June 20 based on flimsy evidence (See further: UA-229-2006).
Besides this, the AHRC noticed several irregularities in the judicial process of this case. Some of them are as follows.
- None of the 24 Chinese staff who were the alleged victims appeared in court to give evidence and be cross-examined. Without any sufficient evidence, the court simply made its rule in favour of the company. Meanwhile, the factory workers insist that there was no hindrance for those 24 Chinese staffs in the factory to leave. This is because the small gate through which people could and did get in and out of the factory was unlocked. Only the factory’s main gate was locked during the strike.
- According to Cambodian law, illegal confinement is a felony in which suspended sentences cannot be given. Therefore, the court judgment in this case is illegal. The prosecution and the trial judge should have discharged the three unionists as there was no sufficient evidence. However, they ignored this provision and gave a politically motivated judgment on flimsy evidence to please the company owner. This illustrates quite clearly that Cambodian courts are not the place for upholding the law but rather compromising cases according to political interests.
While welcoming the release of the three unionists, the AHRC is gravely concerned that the court judgment will set a bad precedent which will have far reaching consequences on workers’ rights in Cambodia. For example, the management staff could abuse this case and well confine themselves in the premises of their companies and then accuse striking workers of illegally confining them. Upon their complaints, the police will be able to make arrests and disperse those strikers with or without a court warrant. To avoid this, the AHRC suggests the defence counsel of the three unionists lodge an appeal against the judgment. We also urge the Cambodian Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to look into this case and squash this bad judgment altogether.
The AHRC again calls for your intervention into this case in order to break the practice of using the courts as a way to repress the workers and union activists.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
CAMBODIA: Three union activists are convicted in an unfair trial
Name of the victim:
1. Mrs. Lach Sambo, the president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC)
2. Miss Gneom Khun, the general treasurer of the FTUWKC
3. Mr. Sal Koemsan, the activist of the FTUWKC
(All the three worked at Jenchou Inn Factory in Kanthouk commune, Angsnoul district, Kandal province, Cambodia but dismissed by the company owner on 23 June 2006 following the court's judgment on June 20 based on flimsy evidence)
Cases status: arrested on 3 July 2006 separately from their houses and on August 7 convicted by the Kandal Provincial Court without any sufficient evidence. All of them were released the day following the judgment.
I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the conviction of the three labour unionists by the Kandal Provincial Court on 7 August 2006. They are Mrs. Lach Sambo, president, Miss Gneom Khun, general treasurer, and Mr. Sal Koemsan, activist, of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), who were all working at the Jenchou Inn Factory located at Kanthouk commune, Angsnoul district, Kandal province, Cambodia.
The above three unionists had been arrested on 3 July 2006 for the alleged illegal confinement of 24 Chinese staff. On August 7, the Kandal Provincial Court sentenced them to three years imprisonment with one month and four days of the sentence served in prison and the rest suspended. The three labour unionists were actually released the day after the judgment as they had been detained for one month and four days in prison since their arrest and therefore had already served their sentence.
While welcoming the release of the concerned union activists, I have found serious problems regarding the court process and its judgment. Some of them are as follows.
First, none of the 24 Chinese staff who were the alleged victims appeared in court to give evidence and be cross-examined. Without any sufficient evidence, the court simply made its rule in favour of the company. Meanwhile, the factory workers insist that there was no hindrance for the 24 Chinese staff in the factory to get in and out. This is because the factory's small gate was not locked. Only the factory's main gate was locked during the strike.
Second, according to Cambodian law, illegal confinement is one of the felonies for which suspended sentences cannot be given. Therefore, the court judgment in this case is illegal. The prosecution and the trial judge should have discharged the three unionists as there was no sufficient evidence. However, they ignored this provision and gave politically motivated judgment on flimsy evidence to please the company owner.
Third, I believe that the court designed its judgment to please both parties but more so the company while facing pressure from 70,000 of the three activists' fellow workers, as well as labour rights supporters. It is interesting that the court sentenced them to one month and four days in prison; exactly the same duration of their detention in the prison pending trail. As a result, although the three unionists were released, they together with other five factory workers cannot go back to work at the factory because the court conviction validates the company's dismissal of them on June 23. It therefore resulted in the suppression of union activities in the factory, again giving benefits to the company. The factory owner had earlier dismissed eight workers on June 23 with accusation of alleged damage to the factory during a previous strike in August 2004. The owner's action was also taken following the court's judgment on June 20 based on flimsy evidence.
Furthermore, I am gravely concerned that the court judgment will set a bad precedent which will have far reaching consequences on workers' rights in Cambodia. For example, the management staff could abuse this case and manufacture the illegal confinement case by the striking workers on the premises of their companies. Under this situation, the police can make arrests and disperse those strikers with or without a court warrant.
In light of the above, I suggest the defence counsel of the three unionists to lodge an appeal against the judgment. I also urge the Cambodian Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to look into this case and squash this bad judgment altogether. I also urge you to take proper steps to stop attacks on labour union activists and ensure their security. I further urge the government of Cambodia to stop the brutal suppression and crackdown on workers and take positive steps toward protecting their rights. Also, the courts should not legitimize the repression of the workers and union activists abusing their mandate in violation of the law, but fulfill their responsibility to uphold justice and the law of the country.
I call for your appropriate intervention into this case.
Yours truly,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
- Justice Dith Monty
President
Supreme Court
N° 30AB, Trasak Paem (St. 63)
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 23 218 243
Tel/Fax: +855 23 212 826 - Justice Ly Vuoch Leng
President
Court of Appeal
No. 14, Boulevard Sothearos
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 23 218 460 (Office) / +855 12 993 838 (cell phone) - Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minster of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: + 855 23 364119
Email:moj@cambodia.gov.kh - Mr. Vorng Soth
Minister
Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training
#3, Russian Federation Boulevard,
Phnom Penh,
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 23 884 376
Fax: +855 23 884 376
E-mail: mlv@cambodia.gov.kh - Mr. Douglas Gardner
UNDP Resident Representative in Cambodia
53, Pasteur Street
Boeung Keng Kang
P.O. Box 877
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: + 855 23 216 257
E-mail:douglas.gardner@undp.org - Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Cambodia
N° 10, Street 302
Sangkat Boeng Keng Kang I
Khan Chamcar Mon
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 23 987 671 / 987 672, 993 590 / 993 591 or +855 23 216 342
Fax: +855 23 212 579, 213 587
Email: cohchr@online.com.kh - Prof. Yash Ghai
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia
Attn: Ms. Afarin Shahidzadeh
Room 3-080
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 91 79214
Fax: +41 22 91 79018 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE CAMBODIA)
Email:urgent-action@ohchr.org - Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Attn: Chloe Marnay-Baszanger
Room 1-040
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)
E-mail:cmarnay-baszanger@ohchr.org - Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Att: Sonia Cronin
Room: 3-060
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9160
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR INDEPENDENCE JUDGES & LAWYERS)
E-mail:scronin@ohchr.org - Mr. Juan Somavia
Director-General
International Labour Organisation
International Labour Office
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
E-mail: cabinet@ilo.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
