Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): On the morning of 14 December 2022 The Supreme Court postponed hearing the appeal of Mr. Ahmad Yaya and his nephew, who were sentenced by the lower court in 2019 to imprisonment for 15 years on charges of illegally trafficking more than 300 Cambodian workers to Saudi Arabia, and trafficking and selling two Cambodian women to Arab families who forced them to work as slaves without pay and be sold from one Arab family to another for nearly 13 years (from 2004 to 2017).

Mr. Soeng Panhavuth, President of the Trial Chamber of the Supreme Court, stated that the appellate hearing was postponed due to Mr. Ahmad Yaya, and his nephew not having a lawyer to defend themselves.


According to the judge's reading of the case, the report said that Ahmad Yaya was a 69-year-old Cambodian-Muslim man, a former Member of Parliament and Secretary of State for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. He was Chairman of Accent Group. His nephew is 48-year-old Ismael Pin Usman, a Cambodian-Muslim man and former civil servant working for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Both accused were sentenced by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on 13 August 2019 to 15 years in prison each and compensation for mental illness caused to the victims. The court also ordered them to jointly reimburse the two victims who were subject to slavery a total of KHR 200,000,000 in accordance with Article 11 of Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.
Both defendants appealed but the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of Appeal upheld their sentence. They therefore appealed further to the Supreme Court.


Ismail Pin Usman was arrested on February 7, 2018 in Phnom Penh while Ahmad Yaya was arrested and detained on 13 August 2021.