Three former Khmer Rouge leaders to remain in custody: court

Khieu Samphan in one of his court appearances.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Former Khmer Rouge head of state and two other regime ministers will remain in custody of Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court for at least another year, a court official said Tuesday.

Investigating judge You Bunleng said they had on Tuesday decided to renew former head of state Khieu Samphan's detention -- due to expire Wednesday -- as they feared he may flee or that the 77-year-old's safety may be in jeopardy.

Khieu Samphan's lawyer Sa Sovan said he would appeal the decision against his client, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role during the regime's brutal 1975-1979 rule.

Judges had already decided to continue to hold the regime's former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith, the ex-Khmer Rouge social affairs minister, according to documents dated November 10 and placed on the tribunal's website late Monday.

Ieng Sary, 83, is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes while Ieng Thirith, 76 -- also known as the "first lady" of the brutal regime -- is charged with crimes against humanity.

Investigating judges Marcel Lemonde and You Bunleng said both suspects had refused to speak to judicial investigators, which is their right, but the judges warned that "it is not conducive to speedy proceedings".

They said the pair's detention "cannot be considered excessive in the view of the scope of the investigation".

Since they were placed in the tribunal's detention last year, "the co-investigating judges have collected a large body of evidence", the judges said.

Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan are among five senior Khmer Rouge leaders, mostly in their 70s and 80s, in detention awaiting trial for their alleged roles in the atrocities.

Up to two million people died of starvation, overwork or were executed under the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.

Established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the UN, the long-stalled tribunal seeks to prosecute crimes committed 30 years ago by senior Khmer Rouge leaders.

The first public trials are expected to begin early next year.