Tears rolled down Prak Sovannary’s face as she sat on a curb in front of the Court of Appeal surrounded by her damp-eyed children and supporters yesterday afternoon, minutes after a judge denied her husband’s bail request.

“My husband and the other 20 workers have not done anything wrong,” Sovannary said. “But the court will not drop the charges against them.”

Union leaders, legal aid workers and other supporters stood in shock yesterday when Appeal Court Judge Khun Leangmeng refused bail for Sovannary’s husband, Vorn Pov – president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA) – and 20 other men arrested at demonstrations supporting a nationwide garment worker strike early last month.

Continue reading:Freedom denied for 21