Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea (C) sought Monday to delay his first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunalPHNOM PENH (AFP) — Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea sought Monday to delay his first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunal, saying that he needed his foreign lawyer to appeal his detention by the court.
A key member of Nuon Chea's defense team, Dutch attorney Victor Koppe, has yet to be admitted to Cambodia's Bar Association, a requirement for foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants.
"If I have only a Cambodian lawyer, it is not consistent with international standards. I believe that if these proceedings go ahead, it is not fair to me," Nuon Chea told tribunal judges.
"I would like to request that the court adjourn the proceedings to a later date," he added, shortly before the judges went behind closed doors to discuss the request.
Nuon Chea, who was Khmer Rouge supreme leader Pol Pot's closest deputy and the alleged architect of the regime's devastating execution policies during its 1975-1979 rule, is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court had been scheduled to hear his appeal of his pre-trial detention, which he argues is based on flimsy evidence. The 81-year-old was arrested in September.
But a conflict over his foreign lawyer, Koppe, arose last week when Cambodia's Bar Association refused to admit him.
Bar officials said Koppe signed had court documents before they swore him in, violating the rule that foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants must be accepted by the Bar before conducting court business.
On Monday, Nuon Chea's Cambodian lawyer also asked that the hearing be postponed.
"I alone ... cannot accept this hearing because this is an international hearing," Sun Arun said.
Nuon Chea, dressed in a crisp short-sleeved shirt, appeared healthy, standing on his own to answer questions from the judges about his name, age and the names of other family members.
The appearance of the regime's ideologue, the senior-most of the five Khmer Rouge cadre to be arrested so far, marks only the second public hearing since the UN-backed tribunal was convened 18 months ago.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.
Cities were emptied, their populations exiled onto vast collective farms, while schools were closed, religion banned and the educated classes targeted for extermination.
A key member of Nuon Chea's defense team, Dutch attorney Victor Koppe, has yet to be admitted to Cambodia's Bar Association, a requirement for foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants.
"If I have only a Cambodian lawyer, it is not consistent with international standards. I believe that if these proceedings go ahead, it is not fair to me," Nuon Chea told tribunal judges.
"I would like to request that the court adjourn the proceedings to a later date," he added, shortly before the judges went behind closed doors to discuss the request.
Nuon Chea, who was Khmer Rouge supreme leader Pol Pot's closest deputy and the alleged architect of the regime's devastating execution policies during its 1975-1979 rule, is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court had been scheduled to hear his appeal of his pre-trial detention, which he argues is based on flimsy evidence. The 81-year-old was arrested in September.
But a conflict over his foreign lawyer, Koppe, arose last week when Cambodia's Bar Association refused to admit him.
Bar officials said Koppe signed had court documents before they swore him in, violating the rule that foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants must be accepted by the Bar before conducting court business.
On Monday, Nuon Chea's Cambodian lawyer also asked that the hearing be postponed.
"I alone ... cannot accept this hearing because this is an international hearing," Sun Arun said.
Nuon Chea, dressed in a crisp short-sleeved shirt, appeared healthy, standing on his own to answer questions from the judges about his name, age and the names of other family members.
The appearance of the regime's ideologue, the senior-most of the five Khmer Rouge cadre to be arrested so far, marks only the second public hearing since the UN-backed tribunal was convened 18 months ago.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.
Cities were emptied, their populations exiled onto vast collective farms, while schools were closed, religion banned and the educated classes targeted for extermination.
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