A Cambodian woman looks at the human skulls on display at a genocide museum near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Heng Sinith/Associated Press)Elderly former Khmer Rouge member charged in deaths of millions in 1970s
June 30, 2008
CBC News
Lawyers representing a former Cambodian communist leader accused of complicity in the deaths of millions of his fellow citizens argued Monday that the 82-year-old should not be in jail as he awaits his war crimes trial in Phnom Penh.
Ieng Sary was foreign minister in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, which maintained brutal policies of repression and social engineering and oversaw the deaths of as many as 3 million people between 1974 and 79.
Ieng Sary is one of five surviving officials of the communist movement awaiting war crimes trials at a joint Cambodian-United Nations-run tribunal in Phnom Penh.
His American lawyer, Michael Karnavas, told judges Monday that his client's "weak physical and mental capacity" made him unfit for the pre-trial jail custody that the tribunal insisted upon.
Karnavas said Ieng Sary was too weak to take part in preparing his own defence, and should either be placed under house arrest or sent to a secure hospital where his lawyers would have more access to him.
"A more robust individual could exercise all of his rights, whereas someone who is not as robust, be it physical or mental, will have less," Karnavas argued before the court.
Calls charges 'unacceptable'
Proceedings had to be stopped because Ieng Sary said he wasn't feeling well enough to proceed and will resume on Tuesday, UN officials said.
Ieng Sary has said the charges against him are "unacceptable" and demanded to see the evidence behind them, but no plea has been entered.
The first war crimes trial under the Cambodia Tribunal process is set to begin later this year when Ieng Sary's co-defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, answers charges of running a Khmer Rouge jail and torture centre where 16,000 Cambodians are said to have died gruesome deaths.
The other accused include Ieng Sary's wife, Ieng Thirith, former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan and ideology chief Nuon Chea.
The movement's notorious leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998, reportedly from a heart attack but no reliable autopsy or investigation was ever conducted.
The tribunal process has been delayed for years by procedural wrangling over the rules of evidence and the trial process.
Cambodian judges and lawyers work side-by-side with international jurists and legal experts in the tribunal process.
The lead co-prosecutor is Robert Petit of Montreal, who has also worked on legal issues in Kosovo, East Timor and Rwanda.
June 30, 2008
CBC News
Lawyers representing a former Cambodian communist leader accused of complicity in the deaths of millions of his fellow citizens argued Monday that the 82-year-old should not be in jail as he awaits his war crimes trial in Phnom Penh.
Ieng Sary was foreign minister in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime, which maintained brutal policies of repression and social engineering and oversaw the deaths of as many as 3 million people between 1974 and 79.
Ieng Sary is one of five surviving officials of the communist movement awaiting war crimes trials at a joint Cambodian-United Nations-run tribunal in Phnom Penh.
His American lawyer, Michael Karnavas, told judges Monday that his client's "weak physical and mental capacity" made him unfit for the pre-trial jail custody that the tribunal insisted upon.
Karnavas said Ieng Sary was too weak to take part in preparing his own defence, and should either be placed under house arrest or sent to a secure hospital where his lawyers would have more access to him.
"A more robust individual could exercise all of his rights, whereas someone who is not as robust, be it physical or mental, will have less," Karnavas argued before the court.
Calls charges 'unacceptable'
Proceedings had to be stopped because Ieng Sary said he wasn't feeling well enough to proceed and will resume on Tuesday, UN officials said.
Ieng Sary has said the charges against him are "unacceptable" and demanded to see the evidence behind them, but no plea has been entered.
The first war crimes trial under the Cambodia Tribunal process is set to begin later this year when Ieng Sary's co-defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, answers charges of running a Khmer Rouge jail and torture centre where 16,000 Cambodians are said to have died gruesome deaths.
The other accused include Ieng Sary's wife, Ieng Thirith, former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan and ideology chief Nuon Chea.
The movement's notorious leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998, reportedly from a heart attack but no reliable autopsy or investigation was ever conducted.
The tribunal process has been delayed for years by procedural wrangling over the rules of evidence and the trial process.
Cambodian judges and lawyers work side-by-side with international jurists and legal experts in the tribunal process.
The lead co-prosecutor is Robert Petit of Montreal, who has also worked on legal issues in Kosovo, East Timor and Rwanda.
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