Condemnation for Cambodian Government push to close war crimes tribunal

Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh
Last Updated: 15 hours 51 minutes ago

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The court's first defendant, the regime's security chief Comrade Duch, was earlier this year jailed for 30 years. [AFP

 

An organization monitoring Cambodia’s war crimes tribunal has warned that continued political interference could undermine the court’s legacy.

The Open Society Justice Initiative has condemned Cambodian government statements that the UN-backed tribunal must close after completing its second case.

Their case is scheduled to start next year, but prosecutors also want to investigate another five former Khmer Rouge.

The government said it would not allow that, and cited political instability as its reason.

But the OSJI said decisions about trials were the tribunal’s to make, and warned that political interference risked leaving “a legacy of impunity rather than justice.”

The court’s first defendant, the regime’s security chief Comrade Duch, was earlier this year jailed for 30 years.