Monday, 30 June 2008

Khmer Rouge tribunal hears pre-trial appeal

Produced by Radio Australia and Australia Network

Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Tribunal is hearing a pre-trial appeal by Ieng Sary, the third most powerful official during the regime's rule, known as the "Killing Fields".

He has appealed for release from pre-trial detention in what's being seen as the first test for the UN-backed tribunal.

Sary, third-in-command of the Khmer Rouge during its reign between 1975 and 1979, faces charges of committing crimes against humanity.

But he denies that he was responsible for the execution of expatriate Cambodians who were deceived into returning home after the regime seized power.

The United Nations-established tribunal, known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, will begin its first proper public trial in September.

Radio Australia's Sen Lam reports from Phnom Penh that over two years since the UN-backed tribunal first opened, the special court says it is ready to hold the trial.

Made up of both local and international judges, the tribunal will try the first of five former senior Khmer Rouge officials.

Kaing Khek Ieu, also known as Duch, is accused of torturing to death some 17,000 Cambodians, including women and children, at Tuol Sleng - the high school which was turned into an interrogation prison by the Khmer Rouge.

No comments: