By KER MUNTHIT/AP WRITER/PHNOM PENH
Monday, February 4, 2008
A former Khmer Rouge leader demanded "international standards" of justice in his first appearance before Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal Monday, but the hearing on his appeal for bail was adjourned after his lawyer asked for a delay.
Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's former ideologist, has been detained since September 19 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the group's brutal 1975-79 rule, which caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.
Nuon Chea's Cambodian lawyer, Son Arun, asked the court to postpone the hearing so a foreign lawyer could join him in appealing for his client to be released from pre-trial detention, claiming the tribunal's investigating judges did not have sufficient grounds to detain him.
Dressed in a long-sleeved, checkered gray shirt, the 81-year-old Nuon Chea stood up to address the judges. He demanded "international standard" treatment of his case, saying it would be unfair to him if the proceeding went ahead without the full participation of both his Cambodian and foreign lawyers.
He said his Cambodian lawyer alone could not adequately make his appeal.
"I need to have two lawyers according to the law of this tribunal," Nuon Chea said, appearing firm and composed.
Prak Kimsan, head of the five-judge panel, adjourned the hearing and gave the defense until Wednesday to explain how much time they needed.
The judges took into account Nuon Chea's "basic right" to have Cambodian and foreign lawyers in deciding to postpone the hearing, Prak Kimsan said, ordering security personnel to take the defendant back to his cell.
Robert Petit, a co-prosecutor of the tribunal, said the adjournment was "regrettable," but that it would not have any impact on the investigation or change the fact that "Nuon Chea stays where he is at"—behind bars pending trial.
Nuon Chea's Dutch lawyer, Michiel Pestman, was absent, with his countryman, Victor Koppe, standing in for him.
Koppe attended the hearing but did not have the right to speak during the proceedings. Cambodia's bar association last week refused to swear him in because he had breached its rules by acting as a defense lawyer before taking an oath.
Nuon Chea is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders detained by the tribunal, which is expected to hold trial later this year. He is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear before the judges.
In a detention order last year, the tribunal charged Nuon Chea with involvement in crimes including "murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts."
The tribunal says detention is necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses, destroying evidence and escaping. The judges said Nuon Chea's own safety could also be at risk if he was released.
Nuon Chea has denied any guilt, saying he is not a "cruel" man. He has also called himself "a patriot and not a coward" trying to run away.
"He deserves to be locked up because of his sin. His revolution killed so many people like animals," said Sok Suor, 68, who was among 400 people attending the hearing. She said her husband was executed and her son died from illness under Khmer Rouge rule.
In December, the pretrial chamber judges ruled against a similar appeal for release by Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison and torture center.
Monday, February 4, 2008
A former Khmer Rouge leader demanded "international standards" of justice in his first appearance before Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal Monday, but the hearing on his appeal for bail was adjourned after his lawyer asked for a delay.
Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's former ideologist, has been detained since September 19 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the group's brutal 1975-79 rule, which caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.
Nuon Chea's Cambodian lawyer, Son Arun, asked the court to postpone the hearing so a foreign lawyer could join him in appealing for his client to be released from pre-trial detention, claiming the tribunal's investigating judges did not have sufficient grounds to detain him.
Dressed in a long-sleeved, checkered gray shirt, the 81-year-old Nuon Chea stood up to address the judges. He demanded "international standard" treatment of his case, saying it would be unfair to him if the proceeding went ahead without the full participation of both his Cambodian and foreign lawyers.
He said his Cambodian lawyer alone could not adequately make his appeal.
"I need to have two lawyers according to the law of this tribunal," Nuon Chea said, appearing firm and composed.
Prak Kimsan, head of the five-judge panel, adjourned the hearing and gave the defense until Wednesday to explain how much time they needed.
The judges took into account Nuon Chea's "basic right" to have Cambodian and foreign lawyers in deciding to postpone the hearing, Prak Kimsan said, ordering security personnel to take the defendant back to his cell.
Robert Petit, a co-prosecutor of the tribunal, said the adjournment was "regrettable," but that it would not have any impact on the investigation or change the fact that "Nuon Chea stays where he is at"—behind bars pending trial.
Nuon Chea's Dutch lawyer, Michiel Pestman, was absent, with his countryman, Victor Koppe, standing in for him.
Koppe attended the hearing but did not have the right to speak during the proceedings. Cambodia's bar association last week refused to swear him in because he had breached its rules by acting as a defense lawyer before taking an oath.
Nuon Chea is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders detained by the tribunal, which is expected to hold trial later this year. He is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear before the judges.
In a detention order last year, the tribunal charged Nuon Chea with involvement in crimes including "murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts."
The tribunal says detention is necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses, destroying evidence and escaping. The judges said Nuon Chea's own safety could also be at risk if he was released.
Nuon Chea has denied any guilt, saying he is not a "cruel" man. He has also called himself "a patriot and not a coward" trying to run away.
"He deserves to be locked up because of his sin. His revolution killed so many people like animals," said Sok Suor, 68, who was among 400 people attending the hearing. She said her husband was executed and her son died from illness under Khmer Rouge rule.
In December, the pretrial chamber judges ruled against a similar appeal for release by Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison and torture center.
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