The Cambodian authorities should immediately drop incitement charges and release an outspoken trade union leader and rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today.

..., the authorities arrested Rong Chhun, president of the independent Cambodian Confederation of Unions, without an arrest warrant at his home in Phnom Penh,..., the Phnom Penh municipal court charged him with “incitement to commit a felony” under articles 494 and 495 of Cambodia’s penal code and sent him to pretrial detention at Phnom Penh’s Correctional Center 1. The charges against Rong Chhun appear to be linked to his recent advocacy for the land rights of villagers...

“The arrest of Rong Chhun is the latest example of unrelenting government repression against activists trying to protect ordinary Cambodians’ basic rights,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The European Union should add this outrage to the long list of rights abuses that need to be resolved in negotiations over ‘Everything But Arms’ trade preferences.”

Rong Chhun is a vocal union leader ... who for years has fought for human rights and workers’ rights in Cambodia...

Rong Chhun has faced repeated government harassment for his rights advocacy ..., the Phnom Penh court convicted Rong Chhun and five other union leaders of “intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances,” and sentenced them each to two and a half years of suspended prison sentences ... The case relates to their alleged role in the ... Veng Sreng Boulevard protests that turned violent, ...

“Prime Minister Hun Sen should stop muzzling labor unionists, human rights defenders, and other critics of government policies,” Robertson said...