A/HRC/4/95 page 9 21. The office documented continuing restrictions on the activities of NGOs and community activists in some provinces. It was concerned that some Governors have continued to misinterpret guidelines that the Ministry of the Interior issued in June 2005 for Commune/Sangkat councils to regulate the work of NGOs and community activists by, for example, asking NGOs for regular reports of their activities and plans, and by requiring NGOs and community activists to obtain permission before attending meetings outside the province. NGOs and the office have continued to request that the guidelines be reviewed and changed. 22. The office also followed discussions about a draft law on NGOs, under consideration since 1995, which the Government revived in 2005 when the Ministry of the Interior asked the World Bank to assist in its drafting. The World Bank has stated publicly that a law as such may not be necessary and has proposed a structured process of dialogue between the Government and NGOs to map out the problems and how the policy environment could be improved to enable NGOs to make a stronger contribution to development and public debate. However, some NGOs have expressed reservations about the Government’s motives and are reluctant to engage in a process that, in the present climate, they feel could result in the imposition of undue restrictions and adversely impact on their work. NGOs working to protect human rights are especially concerned. 23. The office paid particular attention to the cases of Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang, who were convicted of the murder of trade union leader Chea Vichea and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in August 2005. The case has been well documented and marked throughout by serious irregularities. International and national NGOs continued to actively campaign for the release of the two men on grounds that they are innocent. 24. Chea Vichea, President of the Free Trade Union Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was assassinated at a newspaper stand he frequented in central Phnom Penh on the morning of 22 January 2004. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen were arrested four days later. On 19 March 2004 the investigating judge ordered their release for lack of evidence. The Prosecutor appealed the order. Disciplinary action was taken against the judge, purportedly on other grounds, and he was transferred to a distant provincial court a few months later. The Court of Appeal upheld the Prosecutor’s appeal, and returned the case to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for further investigation. On 1 August 2005 the accused were convicted and sentenced following a trial that failed to meet standards of fair trial and was criticized on several grounds. They lodged an appeal in October 2005. New evidence came to light in September 2006 when a key witness of the murder, the owner of the newspaper stand, made a statement which she provided in person to OHCHR’s regional office in Bangkok, before resettlement to another country. In her statement, she provided a detailed description of the man who shot Chea Vichea, and said that neither of the convicted men were the men she saw. The office transmitted the statement to the relevant authorities. The Appeal Court convened on 6 October to hear the appeal in the presence of the two prisoners, their lawyers, family members, witnesses for their defence and concerned NGOs. Staff of the office were also present. However, the Court immediately adjourned on grounds that one of the judges had suddenly fallen sick. At the time of writing, no date has been scheduled for a new hearing.