Ta MokBy Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Ta Mok's medical condition has improved slightly and the 81-year-old former Khmer Rouge military commander—who was hospitalized on Thursday after going 10 days in prison unable to consume food— ate a small amount over the weekend, his lawyer Benson Samay said on Sunday.
Ta ("Grandfather") Mok, the foremost Khmer Rouge military strongman in the closing days of Pol Pot’s communist movement, was moved to a hospital after falling sick with an unspecified respiratory illness in Phnom Penh's Military Prison, where he has been held without trial since 1999.
"Before he was unable to speak or open his eyes. Now he can speak and open his eyes," Benson Samay said.
Several doctors at the military's Preah Ket Mealea Hospital are treating the ailing Ta Mok, who is considered by genocide experts to be a leading suspect for prosecution in the long-awaited Khmer Rouge tribunal. Though still too weak to eat by himself, Ta Mok will take rice porridge if assisted, Benson Samay said.
Benson Samay reiterated his criticism of the Military Court and Military Prison for not sending his client to hospital sooner.
"The Military Court was a little late," he said.
Benson Samay said last week that he first asked that Ta Mok be sent to a hospital on June 23—six days before his actual hospitalization.
Military Court President Ney Thol, who was picked by the government to serve as a judge in the Khmer Rouge tribunal's pretrial chamber, could not be contacted for comment on Sunday.
Ney Thol said last week that Ta Mok was being treated in prison as his condition was not life threatening, but added that if the 81-year-old became "seriously ill" he would be allowed to go to hospital.
On the eve of today's scheduled ceremony at the Royal Palace to swear in Khmer Rouge tribunal judges and prosecutors, officials said that Interior Ministry bodyguards have been assigned to 24-hour duty at the plush Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh to protect the tribunal's international contingent.
Ten foreign judges and prosecutors are staying at the hotel, said Reach Sambath, spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
"There is no potential threat but it is our job: We will watch them 24 hours [per day]," Reach Sambath said.
Judges and prosecutors can also request individual bodyguards if they feel they need them, he said.
Ten of the 12 international judicial staff are currently in Cambodia and will attend the Royal Palace ceremony, Reach Sambath said. He also corrected his statement of Thursday that Sri Lankan judge Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe had not yet arrived in Cambodia.
New Zealand judge Silvia Cartwright and American reserve co-prosecutor Paul Coffey are the two remaining international team members yet to arrive, Reach Sambath said.
Suon Chhengly, director of the Bodyguard Department, confirmed that his officers were stationed at Le Royal but declined to say how many were on a round-the-clock watch.
"Our country is not like Iraq. We only provide them security because it is our duty," he said.
Also on the security inventory, six bulletproof vehicles have been imported especially for use by tribunal officials, Reach Sambath said.
Ta ("Grandfather") Mok, the foremost Khmer Rouge military strongman in the closing days of Pol Pot’s communist movement, was moved to a hospital after falling sick with an unspecified respiratory illness in Phnom Penh's Military Prison, where he has been held without trial since 1999.
"Before he was unable to speak or open his eyes. Now he can speak and open his eyes," Benson Samay said.
Several doctors at the military's Preah Ket Mealea Hospital are treating the ailing Ta Mok, who is considered by genocide experts to be a leading suspect for prosecution in the long-awaited Khmer Rouge tribunal. Though still too weak to eat by himself, Ta Mok will take rice porridge if assisted, Benson Samay said.
Benson Samay reiterated his criticism of the Military Court and Military Prison for not sending his client to hospital sooner.
"The Military Court was a little late," he said.
Benson Samay said last week that he first asked that Ta Mok be sent to a hospital on June 23—six days before his actual hospitalization.
Military Court President Ney Thol, who was picked by the government to serve as a judge in the Khmer Rouge tribunal's pretrial chamber, could not be contacted for comment on Sunday.
Ney Thol said last week that Ta Mok was being treated in prison as his condition was not life threatening, but added that if the 81-year-old became "seriously ill" he would be allowed to go to hospital.
On the eve of today's scheduled ceremony at the Royal Palace to swear in Khmer Rouge tribunal judges and prosecutors, officials said that Interior Ministry bodyguards have been assigned to 24-hour duty at the plush Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh to protect the tribunal's international contingent.
Ten foreign judges and prosecutors are staying at the hotel, said Reach Sambath, spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
"There is no potential threat but it is our job: We will watch them 24 hours [per day]," Reach Sambath said.
Judges and prosecutors can also request individual bodyguards if they feel they need them, he said.
Ten of the 12 international judicial staff are currently in Cambodia and will attend the Royal Palace ceremony, Reach Sambath said. He also corrected his statement of Thursday that Sri Lankan judge Chandra Nihal Jayasinghe had not yet arrived in Cambodia.
New Zealand judge Silvia Cartwright and American reserve co-prosecutor Paul Coffey are the two remaining international team members yet to arrive, Reach Sambath said.
Suon Chhengly, director of the Bodyguard Department, confirmed that his officers were stationed at Le Royal but declined to say how many were on a round-the-clock watch.
"Our country is not like Iraq. We only provide them security because it is our duty," he said.
Also on the security inventory, six bulletproof vehicles have been imported especially for use by tribunal officials, Reach Sambath said.
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