Thai junta frees 14 Cambodian migrant workers

The Thai military junta has released 14 Cambodian migrant workers imprisoned last month for holding fake work visas, Cambodia's foreign ministry said Friday.

"Thai authorities released them after they determined that the workers were also victims because their brokers made fake documents for them," Xinhua quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

"Those workers, including 10 females, returned to Cambodia this Friday morning," the spokesman added.

The workers were arrested last month while they tried to return to Cambodia amid a sudden mass exodus of migrant workers from Thailand.

The release came three days after Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni granted a royal pardon to a convicted Thai activist Veera Somkwamkid during a visit from acting Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow.

During a meeting with Sihasak at Phnom Penh's Peace Palace Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen requested the Thai junta to consider the release of the 14 workers.

The prime minister said those workers were also victims of human trafficking because they asked a ringleader to do work permits for them, but the ringleader used fake stamps on their work documents.