Friday December 5th, 2008
PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia's genocide court Friday ruled that the former Khmer Rouge prison chief will face extra charges, paving the way for the first public trial of a leader of the brutal regime.
Kaing Guek Eav - better known as Duch - was formally indicted in August, accused of overseeing the torture and extermination of more than 12,000 men, women and children when he headed Tuol Sleng prison, known as S-21.
Judges in August ordered the 66-year-old to stand trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to his role in the 1975-1979 communist regime, which wiped out up to two million people. But prosecutors said the indictment failed to go far enough and portray a "full and truthful account" of Duch's crimes.
The pretrial chamber of the court Friday approved the appeal, removing the last obstacle to his trial.
"The pretrial chamber...finds that the domestic crimes of torture and premeditated murder can be added to the closing order," head judge Prak Kimsan said.
This widens the scope of the charges against Duch and makes it easier to convict him under domestic law.
Judges didn't, however, add the accusation that he participated in a "joint criminal enterprise."
The controversial "joint criminal enterprise" is a legal doctrine that allows a court to hold multiple people responsible for crimes when they act as part of a coordinated process, according to legal officials. Because of its nature, the charge is opposed by other Khmer Rouge leaders, who fear that a conviction in Duch's case would leave them automatically liable.
PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia's genocide court Friday ruled that the former Khmer Rouge prison chief will face extra charges, paving the way for the first public trial of a leader of the brutal regime.
Kaing Guek Eav - better known as Duch - was formally indicted in August, accused of overseeing the torture and extermination of more than 12,000 men, women and children when he headed Tuol Sleng prison, known as S-21.
Judges in August ordered the 66-year-old to stand trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to his role in the 1975-1979 communist regime, which wiped out up to two million people. But prosecutors said the indictment failed to go far enough and portray a "full and truthful account" of Duch's crimes.
The pretrial chamber of the court Friday approved the appeal, removing the last obstacle to his trial.
"The pretrial chamber...finds that the domestic crimes of torture and premeditated murder can be added to the closing order," head judge Prak Kimsan said.
This widens the scope of the charges against Duch and makes it easier to convict him under domestic law.
Judges didn't, however, add the accusation that he participated in a "joint criminal enterprise."
The controversial "joint criminal enterprise" is a legal doctrine that allows a court to hold multiple people responsible for crimes when they act as part of a coordinated process, according to legal officials. Because of its nature, the charge is opposed by other Khmer Rouge leaders, who fear that a conviction in Duch's case would leave them automatically liable.
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