Former Capitol Tours bus driver Nan Vanna and Cambodia Informal Worker Association (CIWA) official Ruos Siphay were sent to CC1 prison this afternoon after being charged with aggravated intentional violence, obstructing public officials and obstructing a public road. Union leaders Ath Thorn, Kong Athit, Sok Chun Oeung and Eang Kim Hong have also been charged with the same offences, although not yet detained.

Nan Vanna and Ruos Siphay were arrested on Saturday during a violent attack on former Capitol Tours bus drivers as they demonstrated with supporting union CIWA. Both men sustained injuries during their arrest by anti-demonstration police, who mostly stood by while members of Cambodia for Confederation Development Association (CCDA) inflicted a savage beating on the drivers and their supporters using hammers and sticks. No CCDA members who openly committed violence were arrested. None of the four union leaders charged were present during the violence.

About 70 supporters gathered outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court from this morning to call for the release of the two men. All six men – as well as unspecified ‘unidentified individuals’ – face between two and six years in prison after being charged under Articles 218 and 503 of the Criminal Code and Article 80 of the Traffic Law this afternoon.