Cambodia’s Supreme Court upholds the 2-year prison sentence of a casino strike leader

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the two-year prison sentence of a labor union leader who led a long-running strike against the country’s biggest casino. Chhim Sithar, president of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, had originally been convicted in May 2023 of incitement to commit a felony. She had been leading a strike that began in December 2021 to protest mass layoffs and alleged union-busting at the NagaWorld casino in the capital, Phnom Penh, and was arrested and charged after a January 2022 demonstration of dismissed employees who were demanding to be rehired. NagaWorld in late 2021 had fired 373 employees amid financial struggles related to the coronavirus pandemic.