Chea Chan with three of his supporters outside Kampong Speu provincial prison on 19 August 2024 after being released earlier that day (photo supplied).

The Phnom Penh Appeal Court this morning dropped charges against Chea Chan, a unionist with the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) who was arrested, charged and imprisoned in February 2024.

On 20 June 2024, the Kampong Speu Provincial Court convicted Chan of being an accomplice to theft contrary to Articles 29 and 356 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to one year in prison with six months of that time suspended. Chan was released from detention on 19 August ahead of today’s verdict, on account of the suspended portion of his sentence.

Chan’s February arrest came right after he unanimously won a union vote at Wing Star Shoes factory. He has received support from workers and union members since then, with dozens of supporters gathering outside the Kampong Speu Provincial Court before and during his trial to call for his release. At that time, CATU maintained that the charges were an attempt to stifle freedom of association in Cambodia.

Prior to his release, Chan was one of three union leaders to have recently been jailed in Cambodia. Chhim Sithar, President of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), and Morm Rithy, President of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers’ Federation (CTSWF), remain in prison.