Some Recent Chea Vichea related news items
Some recent news items regarding the Chea Vichea case, posted to KI Media:
- “Another subversion of the judicial process by Hun Sen’s regime: Witness claims Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are innocent.” Associated Press. October 1, 2006.
- Va Sothy, the owner of the newsstand where Chea Vichea was murdered, signs a statement that she is living abroad for fear of her life, implies the murderer is a police officer, and that the two accused are ‘police fakes.’
- A reprisal of the above.
- Sok Sam Ouern of the Cambodia Defenders Project believes new case for accused will be successful with the new statement, but the Judge warns that he is not required to consider the statement since the witness is not in Cambodia and subject to cross examination by the Judge.
- The CDP states that witnesses in the case are hard to find, and not interested, since they lack all confidence in the court.
- ‘Union leaders decided Monday to issue an Oct 30 deadline to garment factories to raise the industry’s minimum wage to an “acceptable level” or they will go on strike.
Manufacturers and 17 union leaders met behind closed doors three times in September. After the latest round Saturday, unions lowered their monthly wage demand from $82 to $63. The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia had offered to raise the $45 a month minimum to $47.75. - “It must be finished by Oct 30,” said National Independent Federation Textile Union President Morm Nhim. Otherwise, she said, “we will announce a strike with the interunion federation.”‘
- Human rights groups continue to hammer on the Cambodian government’s insistence that two men in jail are responsible for the murder of Chea Vichea. Claims of cover-ups and police intimidation are claimed.