Corruption Still Haunts the Khmer Rouge Tribunal – Monday, 18.5.2009

Posted on 19 May 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 613
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“Phnom Penh: Defense lawyers of former Khmer leaders join their voices to raise the cases of corruption allegations and seem to take the corruption problems as a leverage to encourage this mixed court to clearly solve the corruption problem.

“On 4 May 2009, the defense lawyers of Mr. Khiev Samphan, Mr. Ieng Sary, and Ms. Ieng Thirith, lodged complaints to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia against the judgment of the co-investigating judges’ office.

“The co-investigating judges of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Judge You Bunleng and Judge Marcel Lemonde, issued a judgment on 4 April 2009, rejecting to open an investigations on corruption at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, responding to the 11th request of the co-defense lawyer of Nuon Chea.

“The co-investigating judges explained that corruption cases are not under their authority. Also, the authority of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is limited by law, as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia were created to hear and try former high ranking leaders of Democratic Kampuchea [the Khmer Rouge Regime] and other people who are highly responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the Khmer Rouge Regime from 17 April 1975 to 6 January 1979.

“However, both national and foreign co-defense lawyers of Mr. Khiev Samphan, Mr. Ieng Sary, and Ms. Ieng Thirith, support the complaint to clarify corruption allegations that have been mentioned by the co-defense lawyer of Mr. Nuon Chea.

“In four separate complaints filed at the Extraordinary Chambers, the defense lawyers of the four former Khmer Rouge leaders ask the Extraordinary Chambers to dismiss the judgment of the co-investigating judges, and to show the results of the investigation conducted by the internal control service in order to find the truth about corruption at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. This demand is to secure the rights of the accused, such as Mr. Khiev Samphan, Mr. Nuon Chea, Mr. Ieng Sary, and Ms. Ieng Thirith, so that they receive fair hearings. The defense lawyers call on the Extraordinary Chambers to hold public hearings over those appeals early in the first week of June.

“By Saturday, 16 May 2009, there was still no response from the Extraordinary Chambers of the Khmer Rouge court.

“Corruption allegations at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal were raised since the beginning when this court started to deal with crimes, after it was jointly created by the Cambodian government and the United Nations in 2007. But so far, there is no solution yet, creating doubts over the capacity, independence, and future of this mixed court.

“The appeals of the defense lawyers resulted in follow-up reports by the TV channel CNN and The Economist magazine, which reported about corruption allegations at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The defense lawyers claim that especially the interviews with some former staff – from the Cambodian side of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal – clearly describe the procedure for collecting money from staff, and also the persons to whom the money wasto be delivered.

“The complaints directly accused the president of the Administration Office of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Mr. Sean Visoth, to have collected money from Cambodian staff, but Mr. Sean Visoth, who has been present at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal since November 2008, immediately denied that he took kickbacks from, or gave kickbacks to anyone.

“As for officials of the Cambodian government, they always dismiss the allegations about corruption at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, and consider it to be something that was raised without a true basis.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4896, 17-18.5.2009
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Monday, 18 May 2009