Last year, when she returned from a human rights conference in Australia, police arrested her after she landed. They charged her for violating the terms of her parole, which they said prohibited her from traveling abroad. Neither Sithar nor her lawyers had ever received a copy of the parole terms and the government refused to present them after the latest arrest.<\/p>\n
That arrest was viewed by most people as another attempt by the Cambodian government to quell any activity that puts it in a bad light. It has long been asserted, although not proven, that NagaCorp might hold influence over the government to control what takes place at NagaWorld.<\/p>\n
The convictions of Chhim Sithar and the others is a blatant attack on unions and workers fighting for their fundamental rights,\u201d<\/strong> said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International\u2019s interim deputy regional director for research. \u201cThis verdict is a reminder that the Cambodian government would rather side with corporations than protect the rights of its people.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nOn Thursday, according to the Associated Press<\/em>, Judge Soeung Chakriya of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Sithar to two years in prison. The official charge is \u201cincitement to commit a felony.\u201d<\/p>\nLighter Sentences for Conspirators<\/h2>\n Along with Sithar, who plans on appealing the sentence, eight others also appeared in court on similar charges. Their punishments are nowhere near the same as what Sithar received.<\/p>\n
Yes, I know that the court will convict and sentence me, and of course, I will appeal,\u201d<\/strong> Sithar told the Associated Press<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nFive of the others received conditional prison terms of 18 months. They won\u2019t be locked up, as long as they answer to the will of Cambodian courts or authorities \u201cwhenever summoned.\u201d The other three individuals were given one-year suspended sentences.<\/p>\n
A year and a half after the strikes outside NagaWorld began, they continue today. On weekends, fired employees still gather \u2013 peacefully \u2013 to campaign for better rights.<\/p>\n
The Kingdom of Cambodia has received significant blowback over this issue, as well as claims of negligence in preventing human trafficking, drug smuggling, and other crimes. It reached the point that it even had to bring in Qorvis, a Washington, D.C.-based PR and crisis communications firm, to protect its image.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following global outcry about a lack of support for humanitarian rights, Cambodia\u2019s government promised to do better. However, it doesn\u2019t appear to be willing to back that statement up with actions. A Cambodian court just sentenced Chhim Sithar, a labor union leader who helped lead strikes against the NagaWorld casino, to two years in prison. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":274810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,21],"tags":[81913,55,13363],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
NagaWorld Casino Strike Leader Sentenced to Two Years in Cambodian Jail - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n