Photos: Judges listend to Duch's appeal hearing. And Duch (right) first day in court.
by Suy Se 1 hour, 59 minutes ago
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia's Khmer Rouge court opened its first public hearing Tuesday, in what many see as a landmark moment for a country trying to come to terms with the brutal 1970s regime.
Judges began hearing arguments by lawyers for jailed regime prison chief Duch, who is appealing against his detention by the UN-backed tribunal pending a trial expected to take place next year.
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, allegedly oversaw the torture and extermination of 16,000 men, women and children at the Khmer Rouge's Tuol Sleng prison during the regime's 1975-1979 rule.
He was arrested by the tribunal in July, becoming the first top Khmer Rouge cadre to be detained, and charged with crimes against humanity ahead of further investigation of the case against him.
Duch's lawyers argued that years spent imprisoned without trial by another court -- he was first arrested by the government in 1999 -- are grounds for his release.
"The detention of Duch for more than eight years gravely violates Cambodian and international human rights laws," said Cambodian lawyer Kar Savuth, who with Frenchman Francois Roux is defending the former jailer.
"He has promised to cooperate with the tribunal," Kar Savuth told a panel of five judges who will rule on Duch's release.
Prosecutors, however, contend that Duch's freedom would risk creating public disorder and that he may try to flee justice if released.
In his first public appearance since he was seized by the government, Duch, 65, appeared grim-faced but in good health, quickly walking to his chair to sit with his lawyers while dozens of photographers jockeyed to take his picture as he entered the court chamber.
Dressed in a crisp, white short-sleeved shirt, Duch later stood, pressing the palms of his hands together in a prayer gesture, as he answered questions from the judges about his background.
"I am appealing because I have been jailed without trial for eight years, six months and 10 days already," said Duch, speaking in a soft voice.
Before the hearing opened, Duch was driven by bullet-proof vehicle from the tribunal's detention facility to the court house, just 50 metres (yards) away, tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.
Dozens of security personnel flanked the vehicle, highlighting the heavy security that has surrounded the proceedings.
"I hope that justice will be fully rendered to the Cambodian people. (Duch) should acknowledge his guilt," said villager Chhouek Sao, who lost five family members to the regime.
"It's obvious that justice has been delayed and some people are so frustrated by waiting for so long," said the 55 year-old who was attending the hearing.
Established in July 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the UN, the long-stalled tribunal seeks to prosecute crimes committed 30 years ago by senior regime leaders.
With trials not expected until the last half of 2008, Tuesday's hearing has been widely anticipated as a key test of the tribunal's credibility.
"This first hearing means so much," Reach Sambath said. "It will make the critics of the tribunal have confidence in the court and the government in bringing these leaders to justice."
David Scheffer, a former US ambassador at large for war crimes issues and a key negotiator in the tribunal's creation, called the hearing "the first public test of professionalism and hence credibility for the (tribunal)."
In all, five top Khmer Rouge leaders are now facing charges at the tribunal for crimes committed by the regime.
Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and overwork as the communist regime emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia during its rule.
The Khmer Rouge also abolished money, religion and schools.
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