AFP
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S Khmer Rouge war crimes court has a new international prosecutor, the UN-backed tribunal announced on Wednesday, several months after the previous holder of the post resigned.
Briton Andrew T. Caley, who has worked at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has been formally appointed by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, a court statement said.
The appointment was welcomed by court observers, who said it was important to get a permanent international prosecutor in place as soon as possible.
'There are many critical decisions that should be made in the (next) case in the next two months and they should be made by the international prosecutor who will have the responsibility for carrying them out,' Heather Ryan, court monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, told AFP.
Mr Caley is expected to arrive in Cambodia within the next few weeks, said tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen.
Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit announced his resignation from the court in June, citing personal and family reasons after a row with his local counterpart over whether to pursue more suspects of the late 1970s communist regime. He denied his sudden resignation from the tribunal was due to the dispute with Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang.
Briton Andrew T. Caley, who has worked at the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has been formally appointed by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, a court statement said.
The appointment was welcomed by court observers, who said it was important to get a permanent international prosecutor in place as soon as possible.
'There are many critical decisions that should be made in the (next) case in the next two months and they should be made by the international prosecutor who will have the responsibility for carrying them out,' Heather Ryan, court monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, told AFP.
Mr Caley is expected to arrive in Cambodia within the next few weeks, said tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen.
Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit announced his resignation from the court in June, citing personal and family reasons after a row with his local counterpart over whether to pursue more suspects of the late 1970s communist regime. He denied his sudden resignation from the tribunal was due to the dispute with Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang.
2 comments:
Welcome to Cambodia, Mr. Caley
Soon you will be confronted with Hun Sen and his lieutenants refusing to testify as witnesses at the KR Court.
We, Cambodians, hope you are up to the task to speak SOFTLY but carry a BIG STICK into convincing Hun Sen, Sihanouk and others to comply with the summons or else...
Best of luck, Sir.
Dear Mr. Caley,
Please when you hold this positin, you have to finish this successfully. You need to study this position carefully about bad and good. Don't be like Petit who resigned. It means Petit failed and lost. If you play the role, please play till end. Best wishes, Kith Va , Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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