Nuon Chea reacted to court verdict refusing to grant him bail.12/16/2009
(RTTNews) - Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal has charged two leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime with genocide for their roles in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people and ethnic Cham Muslims during the 1970s, said officials on Wednesday.
The two men charged with genocide on Wednesday were Nuon Chea, the former Khmer Rouge deputy supremo known as "Brother Number Two", and former foreign minister Ieng Sary, also known as Brother Number Three.
Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary have already been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, They are among four senior Khmer Rouge officials awaiting trial at the UN tribunal in a case, which also involves Ieng Sary's wife and former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith and former head of state Khieu Samphan.
The first war crimes trial of the tribunal involved Kaing Khev Iev, a former Khmer Rouge commander accused of torturing and killing thousands of Cambodians. The final arguments in that case closed late last month and the judges are expected to make a verdict early next year.
Kaing Khev Iev, also known as Duch, was the head of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious torture center and is accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder of more than 15,000 people during the communist regime's rule from 1975 to 1979.
Duch has co-operated with the tribunal ever since his arrest in 1999. Duch is the first Khmer Rouge leader to face the tribunal. He is also the first to have confessed his role in the atrocities committed during the regimes four-year rule and expressed remorse. He faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the charges, as the UN-backed tribunal does not have the authority to impose the death penalty.
Duch had earlier confessed to his role in the torture and killings of thousands of people, but maintains that he was merely following the regime's orders when he oversaw the torture and death of thousands of Cambodians at the infamous Tuol Sleng prison. He also said earlier that he was full of "regretfulness and heartfelt sorrow" for his past actions.
Duch was arrested in 1999 after British journalist Nic Dunlop discovered him in the Cambodian countryside. Duch was a member of the Cambodia's infamous Khmer Rouge regime that took over the country in 1975 after ousting a US-backed government shortly after the U.S. pullout from neighboring Vietnam.
It is believed that the Khmer Rouge regime had executed over two million Cambodians in its efforts to forcefully create a peasant society based on Maoist principles before the invading Vietnamese army ousted it in 1979. Pol Pot, the founder and leader of the Khmer Rouge, died in 1998 at a camp along the border with Thailand.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
(RTTNews) - Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal has charged two leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime with genocide for their roles in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people and ethnic Cham Muslims during the 1970s, said officials on Wednesday.
The two men charged with genocide on Wednesday were Nuon Chea, the former Khmer Rouge deputy supremo known as "Brother Number Two", and former foreign minister Ieng Sary, also known as Brother Number Three.
Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary have already been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, They are among four senior Khmer Rouge officials awaiting trial at the UN tribunal in a case, which also involves Ieng Sary's wife and former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith and former head of state Khieu Samphan.
The first war crimes trial of the tribunal involved Kaing Khev Iev, a former Khmer Rouge commander accused of torturing and killing thousands of Cambodians. The final arguments in that case closed late last month and the judges are expected to make a verdict early next year.
Kaing Khev Iev, also known as Duch, was the head of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious torture center and is accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder of more than 15,000 people during the communist regime's rule from 1975 to 1979.
Duch has co-operated with the tribunal ever since his arrest in 1999. Duch is the first Khmer Rouge leader to face the tribunal. He is also the first to have confessed his role in the atrocities committed during the regimes four-year rule and expressed remorse. He faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of the charges, as the UN-backed tribunal does not have the authority to impose the death penalty.
Duch had earlier confessed to his role in the torture and killings of thousands of people, but maintains that he was merely following the regime's orders when he oversaw the torture and death of thousands of Cambodians at the infamous Tuol Sleng prison. He also said earlier that he was full of "regretfulness and heartfelt sorrow" for his past actions.
Duch was arrested in 1999 after British journalist Nic Dunlop discovered him in the Cambodian countryside. Duch was a member of the Cambodia's infamous Khmer Rouge regime that took over the country in 1975 after ousting a US-backed government shortly after the U.S. pullout from neighboring Vietnam.
It is believed that the Khmer Rouge regime had executed over two million Cambodians in its efforts to forcefully create a peasant society based on Maoist principles before the invading Vietnamese army ousted it in 1979. Pol Pot, the founder and leader of the Khmer Rouge, died in 1998 at a camp along the border with Thailand.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
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