Cambodian leader, a frequent critic of Khmer Rouge tribunal, 'respects' its first verdict

via Khmer NZ

By Sopheng Cheang (CP) – 1 hour ago

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia's prime minister, a frequent critic of the U.N.-backed trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, said Wednesday his government recognizes the tribunal's independence and respects the guilty verdict in its first case.

Hun Sen was giving his first public reaction since the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer was convicted and sentenced last Monday to serve 19 years in jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Also found guilty of torture and murder, Kaing Guek Eav — also known as Duch — was originally sentenced to 35 years, but 11 were shaved off for time served and another five to compensate for illegal detention in a military prison.

The sentence has been criticized in Cambodia as insufficient in relation to the magnitude of Duch's crimes.

"Regarding the verdict on Duch, I fully respect it," Hun Sen said Wednesday. "The government has no right to interfere or put any pressure on the court."

Hun Sen once served as a Khmer Rouge officer. Critics have accused Hun Sen of trying to limit the tribunal's scope to prevent his political allies from being indicted. Many of his main allies are also former members of the Khmer Rouge.

The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the radical policies of the 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime.

Hun Sen has in the past expressed considerable irritation with the tribunal, especially when it has suggested it may indict more defendants beyond the Khmer Rouge's top leadership. He has suggested that such action could lead to civil war, and has come close to threatening to close down the tribunal and proceed under Cambodian law, without foreign lawyers and judges. They work jointly with Cambodian jurists.

"Whatever the verdict handed out by the court, that is its task," said Hun Sen.

Even Hun Sen's foreign minister, Hor Namhong, last week said he thought the sentence was "too little" considering the number of people killed and tortured.

Duch commanded S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, where up to 16,000 people accused of opposing the Khmer Rouge were tortured and taken away to be killed.

Four more defendants are in custody and expected to be tried starting early next year: Nuon Chea, the group's ideologist; Khieu Samphan, its former head of state; Ieng Sary, its foreign minister, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.