Chhim Sithar speaks at International Labour day in Phnom Penh (2022)

Chhim Sithar, president of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), was released from prison early this morning after completing her two-year sentence on charges of incitement related to the ongoing peaceful strike by her union’s members. Sithar was driven home by officials from Correctional Center 2 (CC2) at approximately 4:30am.

Sithar was first violently arrested in January 2022 as she attempted to join hundreds of striking LRSU members in front of the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh. She was released several months later, only to be re-arrested in November 2022 upon returning from a labour rights conference in Australia. Authorities claimed she was re-arrested due to violating judicial supervision conditions, although neither Sithar nor her lawyer had been informed of those conditions.

In May 2023, Sithar was convicted alongside eight other LRSU unionists by the Phnom Penh Capital Court. The convictions were later upheld by the Appeal Court in October 2023 and Supreme Court in May 2024.

Sithar and other LRSU members have led the longest-running strike in Cambodian history, protesting mass layoffs at the NagaWorld casino during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite relentless efforts by authorities to suppress the strike—including sexual harassment, physical assaults, and judicial harassment—the LRSU strike continues in Phnom Penh.