Rift widens between Cambodian and foreign jurists of Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian judges for a Khmer Rouge genocidal tribunal have blamed their international peers for delaying the long-awaited trials.
The foreign judges decided earlier this week to boycott an April 30 meeting to adopt the rules that will guide the trials.
The Cambodian judicial team said in a statement received Friday that the decision was "regrettable" and "would further delay the process of the court." The statement was dated Thursday.
International judges announced their boycott in response to the Cambodian Bar Association's decision to impose fees on foreign lawyers wishing to participate in the trials.
Many fear that internal disputes could delay efforts to bring the Khmer Rouge's few surviving leaders to trial for crimes against humanity for the deaths of about 1.7 million people during the group's 1975-79 rule. The U.N.-backed tribunal, led by Cambodian and international judges, was expected to begin this year.
The Bar Association has said it will impose US$4,900 (€3,700) of fees on each foreign lawyer practicing at the tribunal.
Ky Tech, the association's president, has repeatedly refused to bow to what he has called pressure from the foreign judges.
He has also accused them of childish behavior and of deliberately delaying the long-awaited tribunal.
The foreign judges decided earlier this week to boycott an April 30 meeting to adopt the rules that will guide the trials.
The Cambodian judicial team said in a statement received Friday that the decision was "regrettable" and "would further delay the process of the court." The statement was dated Thursday.
International judges announced their boycott in response to the Cambodian Bar Association's decision to impose fees on foreign lawyers wishing to participate in the trials.
Many fear that internal disputes could delay efforts to bring the Khmer Rouge's few surviving leaders to trial for crimes against humanity for the deaths of about 1.7 million people during the group's 1975-79 rule. The U.N.-backed tribunal, led by Cambodian and international judges, was expected to begin this year.
The Bar Association has said it will impose US$4,900 (€3,700) of fees on each foreign lawyer practicing at the tribunal.
Ky Tech, the association's president, has repeatedly refused to bow to what he has called pressure from the foreign judges.
He has also accused them of childish behavior and of deliberately delaying the long-awaited tribunal.
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