"“We’ve Cried for Justice for 21 Years”: Labor Leader’s Murder Still Unsolved", 22 January 2025

Twenty-one years after labor leader Chea Vichea was gunned down, his murder remains unsolved…, union leaders, civil society groups, opposition parties, and relatives held a justice vigil for the slain activist, pressing the government to finally find his killer.

Vichea, who was then the president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), was shot dead on January 22, 2004, near Wat Langka in Phnom Penh, while reading a newspaper…

Just four months after his murder, two gunmen on a motorbike killed his successor Ros Sovannarith. In 2007, Hy Vuthy, who defected from a pro-government union to lead the FTUWKC, met the same fate.

Initially, two men were arrested for Vichea’s murder, but witness accounts cleared them. After the first judge dismissed the case, he was replaced, and the new judge convicted both men, sentencing them to 20 years.

They were acquitted after serving five years, following pressure from Vichea’s family and human rights groups.

Despite the establishment of a special commission in 2015 to find the real killers and accomplices, no progress has been made.

… Chea Mony, Vichea’s brother, told reporters he hopes the new government under Prime Minister Hun Manet will finally deliver justice for his family by uncovering the truth…

Current FTUWKC President Touch Seur urged a renewed push into the decades-neglected investigation.

… Ath Thorn, deputy president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (CCAWDU), said independent unions have dwindled since Vichea’s death, while pro-government unions and factories have grown…