Verdict for the 23: all convicted with sentences suspended (incl. PPP last update)

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Brands’ eyes on verdicts of 23

Fri, 30 May 2014

Sean Teehan

As 23 men accused of violent crimes stemming from demonstrations earlier this year brace for a verdict against them today, civil society groups are alleging that no credible evidence was presented by the prosecution during the entire trial.

Nearly five months after soldiers arrested 10 men at a protest in front of Yakjin garment factory on January 2, and 13 others on Veng Sreng Boulevard a day later, the 23, as they’ve come to be known, face sentencing on crimes ranging from incitement to intentional violence. At least four workers were shot dead by state security forces during the deadly garment strikes.

“The consensus among civil society is there’s not one shred of evidence that can be used to convict any of the 23 of the crimes they’re accused of,” said Joel Preston, a consultant from the Community Legal Education Center, which is providing legal representation for some defendants.

Preston said a guilty verdict and harsh sentencing could result in a major backlash in the international community – namely, from clothing brands that source products from Cambodia.

Today’s verdict comes at the end of a jam-packed week of labour-related talks and negotiations, which were made more tense by the looming court date.

After a Monday meeting between government officials, an international labour union and brands that include Puma, H&M, Gap Inc and Levi Strauss, the buyers released a statement saying the verdict should hinge on evidence that holds up to international scrutiny.

The statement warned that instability in the garment sector could result in Cambodia losing its “status as a strategic sourcing market”.

IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Jyrki Raina reported after the meeting that one of the four major brands had already cut orders from factories in Cambodia by 50 per cent.

Global brands’ specific interest in Cambodia’s garment sector practices confounded Ministry of Labour spokesman Heng Sour.

“If the international brands are concerned about the 23 [defendants], then why are they not concerned about their [business] in countries where conditions are much worse than [in] Cambodia?” Sour asked.

Yesterday also marked the end of a workshop on a draft union law attended by representatives from unions, industry and the government.

The ministry will take comments into consideration and possibly hold another workshop before the draft legislation goes before the National Assembly, Sour said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/brands%E2%80%99-eyes-verdicts-23

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Robert Carmichael ‏@Carmichael_Rob 4 min

Sounds as though the 23 plus the two from last year's clash will all be released on suspended sentences.

Lauren Crothers ‏@laurencro 5 min

Also from @jrousselot - two stung meanchey teens also guilty but sentences suspended. #cambodia

Robert Carmichael ‏@Carmichael_Rob 17 min

Jubilation here at the barricades.

Lauren Crothers ‏@laurencro 22 min

According to @jrousselot all 23 guilty but sentences suspended. #cambodia

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FreeThe23 and Steung Meanchey-two verdict: all convicted with sentences suspended

Published on May 30, 2014

This morning, the 25 arrested on January 2 and 3, and November 12, were convicted of a variety of charges with sentences of differing lengths but all sentences were suspended. Vorn Pao (President of Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association) was sentenced to 4.5 years, Theng Savoeun (Coordinator of Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community) 4 years, Chan Puthisak (community leader from Boeung Kak Lake) 4.5 years, and Sokun Sambath Piseth (staff member at Center for Labor Rights of Cambodia) 4.5 years.

Lawyers are currently working to secure their release as soon as possible.

The trials at Phnom Penh Municipal Court started on April 25 and took place over five non-consecutive days with the case of the 10 men arrested at the Yak Jin factory finally coming to an end just after 8pm on May 22. On all the trial days supporters of the 25 were prevented from gathering in front of the court by roadblocks and a heavy police presence.

The 25 were all arrested during violent suppression of worker protests by the authorities. As of today, no member of the police or armed forces has been prosecuted for the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians, which resulted in at least four deaths and the hospitalization of 38 on January 2-3 2014, and one death and the hospitalization of 9 on November 12, 2013.

http://www.licadho-cambodia.org/flashnews.php?perm=64

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Abby Seiff ‏@instupor 4 min

Guilty with suspended sentences for 23 about as classic an example of win-win policy as you will ever find in Cambodia

Robert Carmichael ‏@Carmichael_Rob 4 min

Procession is reportedly headed to Prey Sar. To await release of the 23 plus two. pic.twitter.com/5jh5GgtbEn

phnompenhpost ‏@phnompenhpost 18 min

23 charged over Jan protest violence to be released today after all received suspended sentences. #RightsKH #Cambodia #PPP

Now, we know the sentence, please check Twitter for more other immediate update.

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CLEC ‏@cleccambodia 40 min

Mr. Vorn Pao and Teang Savouen are on a car come from Prey Sar prison. #FreeThe23 #Cambodia #RightsKH pic.twitter.com/EK5hOIDDzy

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'The 23' found guilty, released

Fri, 30 May 2014

Sen David and Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Phnom Penh Municipal Court erupted in cheers this morning as judges announced the release of jailed unionist Vorn Pov and 22 others arrested during unruly garment wage protests in January of this year.

The release, as has become increasingly typical in such cases, was not without caveats.

All 23 were found guilty and given sentences ranging from one to four-and-a-half years, before those sentences were suspended.

The verdicts brought to an end a months-long drama that has loomed over the garment industry, and particularly over recent meetings between major brands and the manufacturers that supply them.

Presiding judge Keo Mony said yesterday that four of Pov’s cohorts were also slapped with fines of 8 million riel (about $2,000), but those were suspended as well.

“The Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge has decided to release the workers, including Vorn Pov,” Mony said yesterday. “Vorn Pov’s suspended sentence is four years and six months, and a fine of 8 million riel. The court will allow them to file an appeal within one month if they do not favour the court’s decision.”

Sam Sokong, Pov’s lawyer, said yesterday that while he welcomed the release, the court should have never sentenced his client in the first place, and that the question of an appeal was still up for debate.

“As for the decision of the court, some parts my client favours, and some parts my client does not favour,” he said. “In any event, my client will consider whether to take it to the Appeal Court or not.”

Meanwhile, in a separate courtroom, presiding judge Leang Sam Nath sentenced another group of 13 defendants – all of whom were arrested during a violent wage protest on Veng Sreng Boulevard, where state security forces shot and killed at least four demonstrators – to one to four years in prison, likewise suspending their sentences.

“Based on hearings, the court has found that they have been the guilty,” Sam Nat said, adding that the court had decided to drop the complaint filed by the owner of clinic that was smashed by the rioting workers.

In a separate decision, the court also sentenced two people, including a minor, who were arrested at a violent protest in Stung Meanchey last November, before suspending their sentences as well.

Rights groups were quick to condemn the convictions of all 25 defendants today, and have maintained throughout the trial that the rights of the suspects had been abused.

“The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) welcomes today’s decision by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of First Instance to suspend the sentences of the 25 human rights defenders, activists and protestors,” read a statement from CCHR released yesterday. “However, CCHR strongly condemns the decision of the judges to convict them despite a complete lack of evidence, and serious violations of their right to a fair trial, as detailed by CCHR ahead of the verdict.”

CCHR went on to criticise the lack of an independent investigation into the use of deadly force by security personnel, and Chhay Chhunly, coordinator of CCHR’s human rights defenders project, was quoted in the statement as saying that no reliable evidence had been brought against the accused.

“The only thing the 25 can be blamed for is to have exercised their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” he said. “The lack of any incriminatory evidence demonstrates that the verdict is based on political considerations rather than evidence.”

Am Sam Ath, a senior monitor with rights group Licadho, also pointed towards political pressure, calling the verdict a product of competing pressure from the government – in favour of conviction – and visiting garment brands – who in recent meetings have said that any verdict should be based on credible evidence.
“I think that the court’s decision was under political pressure,” he said. “The court gets pressure from the government [to convict]… and all the buyers from other countries pressured them to protect the worker’s rights.”

The International Senior Lawyers Project, which works to promote rule of law, issued a statement saying the court’s handling of the case “fell far short of international standards for the conduct of fair trials”.

The criticism of the verdict didn’t dampen the overall sense of celebration among those who turned out in support of the defendants, Prak Sovanary, the wife of Vorn Pov, had her reservations as well.

“I am so happy that my husband could be released and set free, but I also do not like that the court decided to sentence my husband to four years and six months in prison,” she said. “My husband did nothing wrong. He shouldn’t have any sentence.”

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/23-found-guilty-released