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CNN.Com/Asia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A former Khmer Rouge leader said he will not try to flee the country to escape from justice as he pressed Thursday an appeal against his pre-trial detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed tribunal.
Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's former ideologist who appeared at the hearing, has been held 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.
He is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders detained by the tribunal, which is expected to begin holding trials trial later this year. He is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear before the judges.
Many victims of the Khmer Rouge have long feared that some of the defendants, now aging and infirm, could die before facing trial. The 1975-1979 communist Khmer Rouge regime is widely considered responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people though execution, overwork and starvation.
"We try our best to take care of all the defendants without thinking about the costs ... so that they remain healthy to confront the law," Reach Sambath said earlier this week.
The tribunal earlier said detention of Nuon Chea was necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses, destroying evidence or escaping. The judges said the safety of the 81-year-old Nuon Chea could be at risk if he was released.
His Cambodian lawyer, Son Arun, claimed the tribunal's investigating judges did not have sufficient grounds to detain him and asked the court to postpone the hearing so a foreign lawyer could join him. He was given until Wednesday to explain how much time was needed.
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.
The tribunal is expected to begin holding trials later this year.
The other defendants are Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs in the Khmer Rouge government, and Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state.
CNN.Com/Asia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A former Khmer Rouge leader said he will not try to flee the country to escape from justice as he pressed Thursday an appeal against his pre-trial detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed tribunal.
Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's former ideologist who appeared at the hearing, has been held 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.
He is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders detained by the tribunal, which is expected to begin holding trials trial later this year. He is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear before the judges.
Many victims of the Khmer Rouge have long feared that some of the defendants, now aging and infirm, could die before facing trial. The 1975-1979 communist Khmer Rouge regime is widely considered responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people though execution, overwork and starvation.
"We try our best to take care of all the defendants without thinking about the costs ... so that they remain healthy to confront the law," Reach Sambath said earlier this week.
The tribunal earlier said detention of Nuon Chea was necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses, destroying evidence or escaping. The judges said the safety of the 81-year-old Nuon Chea could be at risk if he was released.
His Cambodian lawyer, Son Arun, claimed the tribunal's investigating judges did not have sufficient grounds to detain him and asked the court to postpone the hearing so a foreign lawyer could join him. He was given until Wednesday to explain how much time was needed.
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.
The tribunal is expected to begin holding trials later this year.
The other defendants are Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs in the Khmer Rouge government, and Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state.
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