Vorn Pao speaks at International Labour Day in Phnom Penh in 2024.

The Supreme Court today rejected the appeal of Vorn Pao, President of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), and upheld his conviction on charges of "masterminding" and “instigating intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances” under Articles 28 and 218 of the Criminal Code in relation to a 2014 strike action on Phnom Penh’s Veng Sreng Boulevard.

Pao was handed a sentence of four years and six months in prison by the Phnom Penh Capital Court in 2014. He served 5 months of the sentence alongside 21 other people, and the remaining portion of the sentence was suspended, a verdict which was upheld today by the Supreme Court. He remains at risk of having the remaining suspended sentence implemented if he is convicted on any charges in the next five years.

Pao was one of the four individuals who appealed the Capital Court’s verdict to the Appeal Court. On 29 September 2023, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court upheld the lower court’s sentences, but dropped the fine of 8 million riel (around US$2,000).

Pao was the only defendant who filed a further appeal to the Supreme Court. He was arrested along with other workers and human rights defenders in front of the Yak Jin garment factory on 2 January 2014, one day before mixed forces opened fire on the peaceful minimum wage strikes on Veng Sreng Boulevard. The incident resulted in the deaths of four civilians and injuries to at least 38 others. A 15-year-old garment worker, Khem Sophath, was wounded during the violence and remains missing.