Former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister Ieng Thirith Photo: EPAThe former 'First Lady' of the Khmer Rouge has told her accusers at Cambodia's genocide tribunal they would be 'cursed to the seventh circle of hell'.
Daily Telegraph
By Our Foreign Staff and Agencies in Phnom Penh
24 Feb 2009
Ieng Thirith, 76, who is facing trial for crimes against humanity under the communist regime, at first told the court that defence lawyers would speak on her behalf during her appeal against detention, saying: "I am too weak".
But she later erupted at the prosecution's suggestion that she was aware of atrocities at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison while she served as social affairs minister during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 rule.
"Don't accuse me of being a murderer, otherwise you will cursed to the seventh circle of hell," she said during a 15-minute outburst.
"I don't know why a good person is accused of such crimes and I have suffered a great deal and I cannot really be patient because I have been wrongly accused."
Alternating between English and Khmer, she said that "everything was done by Nuon Chea", referring to the regime's top ideologue who is also among the five senior figures facing trial at the tribunal over the regime's atrocities.
Although Ieng Thirith regained enough strength for her vigorous denial, the health of the ageing suspects is an ongoing concern.
Ieng Thirith's husband, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, was admitted to hospital on Monday with a urinary condition.
It was the ninth time that Ieng Sary, 83, has been rushed to hospital since the pair were detained by the court in November 2007, a court spokesman said.
In documents read to the court, investigating judges argued it was necessary to keep Ieng Thirith in jail to protect her security, preserve public order and ensure she did not flee from trial.
But her lawyer, Phat Pouv Seang, demanded her immediate release, saying that the investigating judges failed to provide adequate evidence.
By Our Foreign Staff and Agencies in Phnom Penh
24 Feb 2009
Ieng Thirith, 76, who is facing trial for crimes against humanity under the communist regime, at first told the court that defence lawyers would speak on her behalf during her appeal against detention, saying: "I am too weak".
But she later erupted at the prosecution's suggestion that she was aware of atrocities at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison while she served as social affairs minister during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 rule.
"Don't accuse me of being a murderer, otherwise you will cursed to the seventh circle of hell," she said during a 15-minute outburst.
"I don't know why a good person is accused of such crimes and I have suffered a great deal and I cannot really be patient because I have been wrongly accused."
Alternating between English and Khmer, she said that "everything was done by Nuon Chea", referring to the regime's top ideologue who is also among the five senior figures facing trial at the tribunal over the regime's atrocities.
Although Ieng Thirith regained enough strength for her vigorous denial, the health of the ageing suspects is an ongoing concern.
Ieng Thirith's husband, the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, was admitted to hospital on Monday with a urinary condition.
It was the ninth time that Ieng Sary, 83, has been rushed to hospital since the pair were detained by the court in November 2007, a court spokesman said.
In documents read to the court, investigating judges argued it was necessary to keep Ieng Thirith in jail to protect her security, preserve public order and ensure she did not flee from trial.
But her lawyer, Phat Pouv Seang, demanded her immediate release, saying that the investigating judges failed to provide adequate evidence.
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