PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian court sentenced three former Khmer Rouge soldiers to 20 years in jail on Tuesday for the murder of British de-miner Christopher Howes and his translator in 1996.
The trio told the court last week they had received orders directly from Khmer Rouge "Brother Number One" Pol Pot to kill Howes due to Britain's support for the Phnom Penh government that came to power after U.N.-backed elections in 1993.
Howes was working for Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a British-based charity, when he and his Cambodian interpreter were captured near the northwestern town of Siem Reap before being taken to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng along the Thai border.
He was shot in the head in March 1996 after receiving a final meal of fruit, which he ate on the floor by the light of car headlights, the court heard last week.
Another former Khmer Rouge soldier, Chheam Chit, 38, was released by the court after trial judge Iv Kimsry accepted that he had been forced at gunpoint to lead the rebels to the place where they could ambush Howes.
"If I had not led them, they would have killed me," Cheam Chit told the courtroom, which was packed with British diplomats and representatives of MAG.
The murder of Howes, who was working to clear up the millions of landmines and unexploded bombs left by decades of civil war, outraged many ordinary Cambodians. A road was named after him in the heart of Phnom Penh.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Alex Richardson)
The trio told the court last week they had received orders directly from Khmer Rouge "Brother Number One" Pol Pot to kill Howes due to Britain's support for the Phnom Penh government that came to power after U.N.-backed elections in 1993.
Howes was working for Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a British-based charity, when he and his Cambodian interpreter were captured near the northwestern town of Siem Reap before being taken to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng along the Thai border.
He was shot in the head in March 1996 after receiving a final meal of fruit, which he ate on the floor by the light of car headlights, the court heard last week.
Another former Khmer Rouge soldier, Chheam Chit, 38, was released by the court after trial judge Iv Kimsry accepted that he had been forced at gunpoint to lead the rebels to the place where they could ambush Howes.
"If I had not led them, they would have killed me," Cheam Chit told the courtroom, which was packed with British diplomats and representatives of MAG.
The murder of Howes, who was working to clear up the millions of landmines and unexploded bombs left by decades of civil war, outraged many ordinary Cambodians. A road was named after him in the heart of Phnom Penh.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Alex Richardson)
1 comment:
Why the world and especially the Cambodians did not honor a Khmer translator who was also killed along with Mr. Howes. The street should bear both names rather than one. Is Cambodian life cheaper than a foreigner? All the time, they mention Howes, but not Huot. These two guys carried out the same and equal humanitarian mission.
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