PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Six Cambodian union leaders have each received suspended 2 1/2-year prison terms in connection with labor protests about five years ago in which four garment workers were killed and around 20 others hurt.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday found the labor leaders guilty on four charges involving violence and property at protests on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
The relatively lenient sentences appeared to be part of an effort by Prime Minister Hun Sen's government to soften its image as an authoritarian regime.
The casualties occurred in early January 2014 where police opened fire on striking factory workers who were demanding the minimum wage be doubled. Police claimed they were defending themselves after several hundred workers blocking a road began burning tires and throwing objects at them.
