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February 16, 2007
Union Leader Chea Vichea
On January 22, 2004 union leader Chea Vichea, who pushed for better working conditions for Cambodian garment workers, including payment of a living wage, was shot dead while reading a newspaper at a roadside newsstand in Phnom Penh. Two men were arrested days after the shooting and later were sentenced to 20 years in prison for carrying out the killing. However the investigation and trial have been widely deemed to be seriously flawed. Both the criminal investigation and the court hearings were denounced by the then Special Representative of the United Nations' Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, as lacking any credibility. In addition to Amnesty International and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Human Rights Watch has also called for the release of the two men and a new investigation to bring the real killers to justice. more
Posted by cat at 08:22 PM