CAMBODIA has arrested a union leader who spearheaded strike action against the country’s biggest casino, a court confirmed today, drawing criticism from the United States.

Chhim Sithar has long campaigned for the reinstatement of hundreds of workers laid off from NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh during the coronavirus pandemic.

She was accused of violating bail conditions by travelling overseas, and was arrested on Saturday at Phnom Penh’s airport as she returned from a conference in Australia.

“Chhim Sithar had left the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia without the permission of the investigating judge,” the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said in a statement today.

Sithar is facing charges of incitement and was previously arrested at a January protest where former casino employees were demanding their jobs back.

Rights groups have said the charges are baseless.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US was “deeply concerned” by Sithar’s arrest.

“We urge Cambodian authorities to release Chhim Sithar and all detained trade unionists exercising their rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, drop charges against them, and move to constructively resolve their disputes,” Price said in a statement.

Nearly 70 unions and civil society groups in Cambodia have demanded Sithar’s release and said her arrest was unfair because she was never informed of her bail conditions and was allowed to leave the country earlier this month.

Prime Minister Hun Sen – who has run the country since 1987, making him Asia’s longest-ruling leader – has been accused by rights groups of using the courts to stifle dissent.

A recent Human Rights Watch report said the Cambodian government has used the pandemic to crack down on unions by jailing labour organisers and blocking strike actions.

Nagacorp – a Hong Kong-listed firm that has an exclusive casino licence to operate in Phnom Penh – has been contacted for comment.

Cambodia has a complex relationship with gambling – while it has casinos, its own citizens are officially barred from playing in them. – AFP, November 30, 2022.