Duch appears in court.Earth Times
Phnom Penh (DPA)- Cambodia's war crimes tribunal announced Monday that judgment in the case of one Khmer Rouge regime's most feared figures will be handed down on July 26.
The accused, whose revolutionary name was Comrade Duch, headed the regime's main torture and execution centre known as S-21 in Phnom Penh.
"Finally after 30 years, the first leading Khmer Rouge figure has been brought to justice," said tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen.
"Hopefully this will be a landmark for the Cambodian people who have waited for more than 30 years to see someone brought to justice for the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge."
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, stands accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as crimes under Cambodian law.
He dramatically switched his plea to not guilty on the final day of his trial late last year, after spending the nine-month hearing apologizing and accepting his role in the deaths of thousands.
Between 1975-79, about 20,000 people are thought to have been taken to S-21, accused of being enemies of the regime. Once there, they were tortured and then executed. Just a handful are known to have survived.
Olsen rejected criticism that the joint UN-Cambodian court had taken almost nine months to reach a verdict.
"The trial chamber has spent the time necessary to reach a verdict, but in total when you look at the whole process it has taken three years from the start of the investigation to when the verdict was handed down," he said.
"And that's not long when you compare it with other international tribunals."
Four surviving senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge are currently in pre-trial detention for their alleged roles in the deaths of nearly 2 million people. Their trials are expected to begin early next year.
The four are: former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue; former head of state Khieu Samphan; former foreign minister Ieng Sary; and his wife, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith.
The tribunal is also investigating five other suspects.
Around 1.7 million people are thought to have died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia from 1975-79. Its leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 on the Thai-Cambodian border.
The accused, whose revolutionary name was Comrade Duch, headed the regime's main torture and execution centre known as S-21 in Phnom Penh.
"Finally after 30 years, the first leading Khmer Rouge figure has been brought to justice," said tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen.
"Hopefully this will be a landmark for the Cambodian people who have waited for more than 30 years to see someone brought to justice for the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge."
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, stands accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as crimes under Cambodian law.
He dramatically switched his plea to not guilty on the final day of his trial late last year, after spending the nine-month hearing apologizing and accepting his role in the deaths of thousands.
Between 1975-79, about 20,000 people are thought to have been taken to S-21, accused of being enemies of the regime. Once there, they were tortured and then executed. Just a handful are known to have survived.
Olsen rejected criticism that the joint UN-Cambodian court had taken almost nine months to reach a verdict.
"The trial chamber has spent the time necessary to reach a verdict, but in total when you look at the whole process it has taken three years from the start of the investigation to when the verdict was handed down," he said.
"And that's not long when you compare it with other international tribunals."
Four surviving senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge are currently in pre-trial detention for their alleged roles in the deaths of nearly 2 million people. Their trials are expected to begin early next year.
The four are: former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue; former head of state Khieu Samphan; former foreign minister Ieng Sary; and his wife, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith.
The tribunal is also investigating five other suspects.
Around 1.7 million people are thought to have died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia from 1975-79. Its leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 on the Thai-Cambodian border.
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