Eight LRSU leader and members were transported to Phnom Penh Appeal court this morning.

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning upheld the lower court’s decision to deny bail to eight union members and leaders from the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU). After the verdict, the eight were returned to Correctional Centre 1 (CC1) and Correctional Centre 2 (CC2) in Phnom Penh, where they are in pre-trial detention on charges of incitement.

The eight were arrested in December 2021 and January 2022 while participating in a strike against NagaWorld casino. They include union leader Chhim Sithar, union secretary Chhim Sokhorn, and unionists Hay Sopheap, Kleang Soben, Ry Sovandy, Sun Srey Pich, and Touch Sereymeas, as well as former union member Sok Narith. The Appeal Court’s decision came one day after a high-level meeting between leaders from the police, courts, and ministries organized by Interior Minister Sar Kheng to discuss the NagaWorld labour dispute.

Three additional LRSU members - Choub Channath, Sao Sambath, and Seng Vannarith – are also in pre-trial detention after being arrested in February 2022 on charges of obstructing enforcement measures under the newly passed Covid-19 law. Despite these arrests, union members have continued their strike to call for NagaWorld to respect labour rights and reinstate improperly dismissed workers, even as the government has arrested the union’s leaders, harassed striking workers, and detained more than one hundred strikers in government quarantine facilities using the new Covid-19 law in recent months.