AFP/File – A tourist takes pictures of skulls at the Choeung Ek killing fields memorial near Phnom Penh in July … PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Four top Khmer Rouge leaders will stand trial for crimes including genocide during the "Killing Fields" era, Cambodia's UN-backed court said Thursday, just weeks after its landmark first conviction.
"Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, 84, who served as deputy to Khmer Rouge founder Pol Pot, was formally indicted along with former foreign minister Ieng Sary, social affairs minister Ieng Thirith and head of state Khieu Samphan.
Judge You Bunleng hailed the decision as a success for the tribunal, listing a litany of charges against the four most senior surviving members of the blood-soaked regime, including crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and religious persecution.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Marxist regime emptied the cities and abolished money and schools in the late 1970s in a bid to create an agrarian utopia, wiping out nearly a quarter of the country's population before they were ousted from the capital by Vietnamese forces.
The case file, which extends to more than 350,000 pages with over 11,600 pieces of documentary evidence, is the result of years of investigation by the court.
Established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the UN, the long-stalled tribunal has met political pressure from a Cambodian government with many former Khmer Rouge figures within its ranks.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a mid-level cadre before turning against the movement, said last year he would "prefer for this court to fail" than see new cases opened.
Six senior members of the ruling party last year ignored summonses to appear before the tribunal.
Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Center of Cambodia -- which collects evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities -- told AFP "serious concerns" have been raised "time and time again about potential political interference", but was hopeful the court could face up to those challenges.
"The death knell has been sounded many times but the court keeps coming through," she added, while admitting "it's not going to be easy."
The trial, expected to begin in early 2011, will be the court's second, following the historic sentencing of former prison chief Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, in July for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The four newly indicted leaders have been in detention since their arrests in 2007 in connection with the regime's bloody rule over Cambodia from 1975-79, when up to two million people died from starvation, overwork or execution.
The genocide charges relate specifically to the deaths of Vietnamese people and ethnic Cham Muslims under the regime.
The upcoming trial is expected to be a lengthy and complex one with all four leaders disputing the charges against them.
However, in the 2009 documentary "Enemies of the People", Nuon Chea -- the movement's chief ideologue -- admits the regime killed perceived traitors if they could not be "re-educated" or "corrected".
Ieng Sary, or "Brother Number Three", acted as the public face of the secretive regime. Since his arrest by the UN tribunal, the 84-year-old's health has deteriorated significantly.
His wife, Ieng Thirith, now 78, is sometimes described as the "First Lady" of the Khmer Rouge. Her sister was married to Pol Pot.
The final defendant Khieu Samphan, 79, was one of the few regime members who had contact with the outside world. He has claimed he was "naive" about the destruction wrought by the Khmer Rouge.
The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres.
The tribunal may be the last chance to find justice for victims since many top regime figures are now either dead or in ailing health. The judges said they were doing everything possible to monitor the four on a daily basis.
Villager Ly Heang from Kampong Thom province, who lost four relatives under the Khmer Rouge, welcomed the indictments.
"We were really hurt under the regime. I want them to be severely punished," the 59-year-old told AFP.
Interactive graphic on four high-profile former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes including genocide, ahead of their trial in Cambodia.
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