Chhim Sithar was violently arrested in Phnom Penh on 4 January 2022.

Union leader Chhim Sithar was detained by immigration police at the Phnom Penh International Airport today after returning to Cambodia following a 12-day trip to Australia. She was detained at immigration at around 10:30 am and has been sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Sithar’s lawyer, who was present at the airport, has not been allowed to accompany the union leader during questioning and has been unable to contact her for several hours.

Sithar, the president of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), was charged with incitement under Articles 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code in January 2022 after the union began a strike action. She was violently arrested while trying to join fellow strikers and spent over two months in pre-trial detention alongside other union leaders and members before being released on bail in March this year. Upon her release, neither Sithar nor her lawyers were informed of any judicial supervision or probation conditions, such as travel restrictions.

LRSU members have been striking since December 2021 following mass layoffs at the NagaWorld casino that included the union’s entire leadership. Sithar, alongside other LRSU leaders and members, faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

Update: Sithar was sent to Correctional Center 2 prison this afternoon.