Co-Prosecutors Andrew Cayley and Chea Leang exchange words at the ECCC last year. ECCC/Pool
Australia Network News
A rift has emerged between the international and Cambodian prosecutors at the UN-backed war crimes court in Phnom Penh.
They have differing opinions over whether to pursue a third politically sensitive Khmer Rouge case.
Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang has issued a statement saying the unnamed suspects in the case should not have to face trial.
She says the suspects were not senior leaders or those who were most responsible during the regime and therefore are outside the court's jurisdiction.
The comments pit her directly against her international counterpart, Andrew Cayley.
On Monday, he urged the tribunal's co-investigating judges to examine the alleged crimes more thoroughly and summon and question the suspects.
Prosecutors have long been split along international and Cambodian lines but rarely has their disagreement spilled out so publicly, says AFP newsagency.
The third case is widely believed to centre around a former Khmer Rouge navy commander and an air force commander while the fourth and final case is thought to involve three lower-level regime members.
The Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has repeatedly voiced his objection to new trials, saying they could even plunge the country into civil war.
Australia Network News
A rift has emerged between the international and Cambodian prosecutors at the UN-backed war crimes court in Phnom Penh.
They have differing opinions over whether to pursue a third politically sensitive Khmer Rouge case.
Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang has issued a statement saying the unnamed suspects in the case should not have to face trial.
She says the suspects were not senior leaders or those who were most responsible during the regime and therefore are outside the court's jurisdiction.
The comments pit her directly against her international counterpart, Andrew Cayley.
On Monday, he urged the tribunal's co-investigating judges to examine the alleged crimes more thoroughly and summon and question the suspects.
Prosecutors have long been split along international and Cambodian lines but rarely has their disagreement spilled out so publicly, says AFP newsagency.
The third case is widely believed to centre around a former Khmer Rouge navy commander and an air force commander while the fourth and final case is thought to involve three lower-level regime members.
The Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has repeatedly voiced his objection to new trials, saying they could even plunge the country into civil war.
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