On April 12 the Appeals Court upheld the prison sentences of two men accused of killing

labor leader Chea Vichea. The decision has been met with condemnation from local

and international rights groups. A coalition of rights groups in Phnom Penh issued

a joint statement deploring the ruling as inadequate and "politically biased."

Just days after the January 2004 killing of Vichea, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun

were arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison in what the rights watchdog Amnesty

International called a "deeply flawed criminal investigation and trial."