Members of Cambodia’s Cham and Vietnamese groups in Phnom Penh welcomed word from the Khmer Rouge tribunal this week that regime leaders in custody will be charged with genocide, as well as other atrocity crimes.
In interviews with VOA Khmer Thursday, Chams and Vietnamese alike said they expected the charges of genocide to help bring reconciliation [...]
Khmer Rouge Tribunal – Feature : For Two Groups, a Chance for Reconciliation
‘Be Careful’ of War, Hun Sen Warns Tribunal
Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal would not be able to indict more suspects than it already has, repeating his warnings that further indictments could lead to instability and, potentially, war.
“I prefer the failure of the tribunal than to let the country fall into war,” he said, reiterating concerns that [...]
Judges Find Difficulty in Tribunal’s Second Case
Judges at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal said Monday they face a number of complications in preparation of the court’s second trial, the combined indictment of four senior leaders, which has stalled investigations.
The trial of Case No. 002 pits the court against alleged atrocity crimes suspects Nuon Chea, the chief ideologue of the regime; Khieu [...]
Indictments Hint at Tribunal Independence: Scholar
An American professor who has been following and writing crucial articles about the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal on Monday offered a cautious congratulations to the court’s latest development which could lead to more prosecutions of the regime’s senior leaders.
John Hall, a law professor at Chapman University School of Law, said in a letter to VOA [...]
Khmer Rouge fighter relates “killing fields” horror
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – A former fighter for the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s told a Cambodian court Wednesday how he was suspected of turning against the Pol Pot regime, arrested and beaten unconscious, waking up beneath bodies in a burial pit.
Phork Khan, 57, was testifying at the trial of Duch, head of the Khmer [...]
Cambodia KRouge defence warned over website
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The defence team of a Khmer Rouge leader has been ordered to remove confidential documents from Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court from a website, the tribunal’s investigating judges said Tuesday.
Lawyers for former foreign minister Ieng Sary “face sanctions” if they do not remove all documents relating to judicial investigations within 48 [...]
Cambodia begins painful look back with Khmer Rouge trials
PHNOM PENH: The first trial addressing the Khmer Rouge atrocities of the 1970s opened Tuesday with a vigorous plea on behalf of the judicial rights of the defendant – a man who knows a thing or two about the treatment of prisoners.
After opening formalities before five red-robed justices, a lawyer for the defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, [...]
Khmer Rouge ‘First Lady’ in Cambodia court tirade
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The former Khmer Rouge “First Lady” launched an angry tirade at Cambodia’s UN-backed genocide tribunal on Tuesday, telling her accusers they would be “cursed to the seventh circle of hell.”
Ieng Thirith, 76, facing trial for crimes against humanity under the communist regime, at first told the court that defence lawyers would [...]
Soldier Defends Tuol Sleng Film
A Vietnamese soldier and cameraman defended as “true†a film he shot of Tuol Sleng prison during the ouster of the Khmer Rouge, which could be used as evidence in tribunal proceedings.
Ding Phong, now 71, shot footage of Tuol Sleng prison as Vietnamese forces liberated Phnom Penh in Januray 1979, but the film has come [...]
28 Parties Used for Impending Duch Trial
Nearly 100 civil parties submitted applications to take part in the upcoming trial of former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, tribunal officials announced Wednesday.
The Victims Unit of the tribunal said 94 parties had applied and 28 had been recognized by investigating judges for the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, better known as Duch, [...]