Sought bail … Ieng Sary at the court yesterday.Photo: APThe Sunday Morning Herald
smh.com.au
July 1, 2008
PHNOM PENH: The former Khmer Rouge foreign minister appeared before the United Nations-backed Cambodian genocide court yesterday to appeal against his detention, in a case that poses the first big test for the tribunal.
Ieng Sary, 82, is one of five top regime cadres detained for crimes allegedly committed during the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 rule over Cambodia.
The aged and sickly former leader, who has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, walked into court with a cane and needed the help of guards to sit in the dock. When judges asked his occupation, he said: "I am retired."
The hearing was attended by about 300 Cambodians. Heng Sruy, 57, travelled from the south-western province of Kampot and said he hoped the court would continue Ieng Sary's detention. "I want to hear Ieng Sary speak the truth," Mr Heng Sruy said. "I lost many relatives under the Khmer Rouge regime. I can't remember how many, but a lot."
At yesterday's hearing, Ieng Sary's lawyers planned to seek his release on bail. Later in the week, they are expected to argue that the charges should be dropped because Ieng Sary had received a royal pardon in 1996 in return for surrendering to the government.
"The court will have to decide whether the amnesty is valid or not. Maybe they will have a conflict between Cambodia's constitution and international norms," the head of the Cambodian Defenders Project, Sok Samoueun, said.
Deciding whether nationally granted amnesties apply to international trials is a significant area of contention that has been raised in the Sierra Leone war crimes trial and the International Criminal Court, the head of the Khmer Rouge tribunal's defence office, Rupert Skillbeck, said.
July 1, 2008
PHNOM PENH: The former Khmer Rouge foreign minister appeared before the United Nations-backed Cambodian genocide court yesterday to appeal against his detention, in a case that poses the first big test for the tribunal.
Ieng Sary, 82, is one of five top regime cadres detained for crimes allegedly committed during the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 rule over Cambodia.
The aged and sickly former leader, who has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, walked into court with a cane and needed the help of guards to sit in the dock. When judges asked his occupation, he said: "I am retired."
The hearing was attended by about 300 Cambodians. Heng Sruy, 57, travelled from the south-western province of Kampot and said he hoped the court would continue Ieng Sary's detention. "I want to hear Ieng Sary speak the truth," Mr Heng Sruy said. "I lost many relatives under the Khmer Rouge regime. I can't remember how many, but a lot."
At yesterday's hearing, Ieng Sary's lawyers planned to seek his release on bail. Later in the week, they are expected to argue that the charges should be dropped because Ieng Sary had received a royal pardon in 1996 in return for surrendering to the government.
"The court will have to decide whether the amnesty is valid or not. Maybe they will have a conflict between Cambodia's constitution and international norms," the head of the Cambodian Defenders Project, Sok Samoueun, said.
Deciding whether nationally granted amnesties apply to international trials is a significant area of contention that has been raised in the Sierra Leone war crimes trial and the International Criminal Court, the head of the Khmer Rouge tribunal's defence office, Rupert Skillbeck, said.
Ieng Sary was one of the biggest public supporters of the regime's mass purges, researchers say.
Agence France-Presse
No comments:
Post a Comment