UN and ILO welcome re-investigation of 2004 murder of union leader

Monsters and Critics
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Asia-Pacific News
Aug 18, 2009

Phnom Penh - The UN human rights office and International Labour Organization on Tuesday welcomed a decision by Cambodia's Appeal Court to re-investigate the murder of a prominent trade union leader.

Chea Vichea, who headed the FTU garment workers' union, which is affiliated to an opposition political party, was shot dead in Phnom Penh in broad daylight in January 2004. The two men subsequently convicted of the crime are widely believed to have been framed.

'It now seems beyond doubt that there is insufficient evidence to maintain the charges against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun,' the UN office and the ILO said in a joint statement released August 18, a day after the Appeal Court said it would re-investigate the case.

Chea Vichea was one of three FTU officials shot dead since 2004.

The statement noted that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun had confessed under duress to the killing, and said the initial trial court ignored witness testimony showing they were innocent.

'The charges against the men should now be dropped, allowing the police to resume the search for those really responsible for shooting Chea Vichea in January 2004,' the organisations said, adding that the case raised wider questions about the country's judicial system to deliver justice to international standards.

Cambodia's courts are widely seen as weak and lacking independence. The government has come under sustained criticism this year for using legal action against people in politics, media and civil society whom it perceives as its critics.