Former Khmer Rouge commander Sam Bith is escorted by police as he arrives at Phnom Penh's Municipal Court on May 23, 2002 where he was formally charged for his alleged role in the kidnap and killing of three foreign tourists in 1994. Bith, who had escaped from the law for more than two years, was arrested Wednesday at his house in northwestern Cambodia. (Photo: everyday.com.kh)December 01, 2006
From correspondents in Phnom Penh
AFP
A CAMBODIAN court today agreed to a new appeal from former Khmer Rouge commander Sam Bith over his life sentence for his role in the 1994 killing of three Western backpackers, including Australian David Wilson.
Mr Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and Frenchman Jean-Michel Braquet, 27, were abducted from a train when it was attacked while travelling between Phnom Penh and the southern port city of Sihanoukville in 1994.
They were killed a few months later.
Sam Bith's lawyer Nou Chantha said his client could not appear at the Court of Appeal because he was ill with high blood pressure and diabetes.
"He has been hospitalised for years. And he is now unable to speak," Nou Chantha said at court.
Despite the defendant's inability to appear, court officials agreed that the appeal could go ahead since the case had already dragged on for years.
"So the court decided to hear the case," said judge Saly Theara, one of three judges hearing the case.
A verdict is expected on Tuesday.
Sam Bith, who is now 73, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in 2002 by Phnom Penh municipal court on six charges including premeditated murder, illegal detainment of people, and acts of terrorism.
Sam Bith denied any involvement in the killing of three Western backpackers and then filed an appeal.
Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the life sentence, but Sam Bith and his lawyer Nou Chantha disputed the decision because the court had heard the case in his absence.
Thirteen Cambodians also died in the attack, and the Westerners were held for two months by Khmer Rouge rebels before ransom negotiations collapsed and they were killed by their captors.
The murders triggered an international outcry and opened a long and emotional legal wrangle that has forced the victims' parents to travel several times to Cambodia for court hearings.
Sam Bith has said that he was in hospital in Thailand at the time of the kidnappings, and that Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot had removed him from his position, according to his testimony at the lower court.
Two other former Khmer Rouge, Nuon Paet and commander Chhouk Rin, are serving life prison sentences for their role in the killings after exhausting their appeals.
Mr Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and Frenchman Jean-Michel Braquet, 27, were abducted from a train when it was attacked while travelling between Phnom Penh and the southern port city of Sihanoukville in 1994.
They were killed a few months later.
Sam Bith's lawyer Nou Chantha said his client could not appear at the Court of Appeal because he was ill with high blood pressure and diabetes.
"He has been hospitalised for years. And he is now unable to speak," Nou Chantha said at court.
Despite the defendant's inability to appear, court officials agreed that the appeal could go ahead since the case had already dragged on for years.
"So the court decided to hear the case," said judge Saly Theara, one of three judges hearing the case.
A verdict is expected on Tuesday.
Sam Bith, who is now 73, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison in 2002 by Phnom Penh municipal court on six charges including premeditated murder, illegal detainment of people, and acts of terrorism.
Sam Bith denied any involvement in the killing of three Western backpackers and then filed an appeal.
Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the life sentence, but Sam Bith and his lawyer Nou Chantha disputed the decision because the court had heard the case in his absence.
Thirteen Cambodians also died in the attack, and the Westerners were held for two months by Khmer Rouge rebels before ransom negotiations collapsed and they were killed by their captors.
The murders triggered an international outcry and opened a long and emotional legal wrangle that has forced the victims' parents to travel several times to Cambodia for court hearings.
Sam Bith has said that he was in hospital in Thailand at the time of the kidnappings, and that Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot had removed him from his position, according to his testimony at the lower court.
Two other former Khmer Rouge, Nuon Paet and commander Chhouk Rin, are serving life prison sentences for their role in the killings after exhausting their appeals.
1 comment:
Cambodian court don't be a fool act as YUONS slave justice.
Can you agree to trial Sihanouk accomplish in kill 1.7 innocent Khmers during Pol Pot regime, at least between 1975 to 1976.
Most importantly you must arrest all Hun Sen government officials who were planing K-5 in 1983 and killed about 600,000 innocent Khmers at the Thai-Cambodian border.
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