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| On the stand: 'Brother Number Two' Nuon Chea listens in court and, right, former head of the Khmer Rouge state Khieu Samphan has headphones on |
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| Custody: Khmer Rouge 'First Lady' Ieng Thirith, a former social affairs minister, left the court hearing early |
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER (UK)
Three top Khmer Rouge leaders made a joint appearance before a UN-backed war crimes court today to seek release from custody as they await trial for genocide.
'Brother Number Two' Nuon Chea and ex-social affairs minister Ieng Thirith looked frail as they sat in the courtroom with former head of state Khieu Samphan.
There are strong concerns that not all of the defendants, who are aged between 78 and 85, will live to see a verdict.
They are accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other charges under Cambodian laws in connection with the deaths of up to two million people between 1975 and 1979 as a result of starvation, overwork and execution.
Lawyers called for their 'immediate release', claiming their detention was illegal because they had not been brought to trial four months after their indictments were issued.
Jasper Pauw, defending, said 'there are no conceivable reasons to keep Nuon Chea in custody'.
A pale Ieng Thirith, described as the 'First Lady' of the Khmer Rouge, left the courtroom as soon as proceedings began and waived her right to attend the hearing.
Nuon Chea - who wore sunglasses to protect his eyes from the light - suffered a dizzy spell and was sent to the court's detention facility on medical advice.
Fellow accused Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister, did not attend the hearing. His lawyers claim he was too ill to spend full days in court.
All four defendants have been detained since they were arrested in 2007.
Prosecutors dismissed the call for their release and said they could try to escape the country or exert pressure on witnesses if freed.
Andrew Cayley, prosecuting, said: 'The passage of time has not diminished the impact of these crimes.'
A ruling on the request will be made in mid-February, but they are unlikely to be freed because of the uproar it would cause in Cambodia.
Chab Chhean, 60, who lost 12 relatives under the regime, said outside court: 'The court must not release them because they abused the people so much.'
The trial, the tribunal's second, is due to start in the next five months and is expected to be lengthy as all four leaders dispute the charges against them.
It follows the landmark conviction in July of former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the deaths of around 15,000 men, women and children.
The court, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty, handed Duch a 30-year jail term - but he could walk free in 19 years because of time already served.
Both Duch, 68, and the prosecution have appealed against the sentence.
Led by 'Brother Number One' Pol Pott, who died in 1998, the Marxist Khmer Rouge regime emptied entire cities in the late 1970s in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
26 comments:
Ieng Thirith Chheur sa tek arorm,
Khjel thveur kar
These monsters should be only given 1 table spoon of rice for each of their meal and make them work 12 hrs a day.
While acknowledging the mass atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime, we should never forget the level of atrocities committed during the US secretive bombing of Cambodia from 1968-1973. A declassified telephone discussion between Henry Kissinger and General Alexander Haig, Nixon's deputy assistant for national security affairs, recorded that Nixon had ordered a “massive bombing campaign in Cambodia [to use] anything that flys [sic] on anything that moves”.
The map of US bombing targets released by Yale University’s Cambodian Genocide Program shows that more than half of the country was affected by the indiscriminate bombings. Professor Ben Kierman, director of the program, puts the casualties figure from the bombing at 150,000 deaths, while Edward Herman, a professor of Wharton School, and Noam Chomsky put the toll at 600,000 using figures provided by a Finnish Commission of Inquiry.
Based on this, we can never naively claim that US bombing led to the mass executions by the Khmer Rouge or refuted the regime's mass atrocities. But, to certain extent, the blanket bombing, which directly led to the destruction of livestock and agricultural land, could have definitely played a role in the mass starvation.
From new data released during the Clinton administration, Taylor Owen, a doctoral student at Oxford University, and Professor Kierman noted that 2,756,941 tons of bombs were dropped on Cambodia.
To put the figure into perspective, just over 2 million tons of bombs were dropped by the allies during all of World War II. The bombs dropped in Cambodia represented about 184 Hiroshima atomic bombs combined, making Cambodia the most bombed nation in the world. Based on the new data, Professor Kierman also stressed that the casualties might be much higher than his earlier predicted 150,000.
And how many Khmer were killed by the Viet cong armies?
They are looked evils!!!!!
May they never dy but suffering!
A norourk Khieu Samphan, A norourk Nuon Chea, and Mi norourk Ieng Thirith, we must them for life.
A norourk Khieu Samphan, A norourk Nuon Chea, and Mi norourk Ieng Thirith, You killed the Khmer people,and destroyed the Khmer nation. Now You must stay in jail for life.
American did kill Khmer. I agree. But
American and Khmer Rouge no longer kill. Yuon and CPP continue to kill without being seen.
Without the change of leadership and government system, Khmer continue to die. American is now beneficial to Khmer; Khmer rouge is now a dead horse. There is no reason to revenge with the dead horse but to stand up to the killing tiger. The more you blame the Khmer rouge, the more the Yuon and CPP gain benefit and they continue to kill Kmer until one day Khmer has only existing name .
don't let these extremist KR leaders get out scotch free! the bottom line is there were million of khmer people killed under their communist rule, not to mention cambodia as a country was destroyed, etc! these are the criminals against humanity, against khmer people, against everything cambodia stood for in the past, against cambodia, etc, etc..., the list is endless! lock them all up in prison for the rest of their lives so they can think about what they did to cambodia and humanity, etc... there is no good excuse for killing khmer people and destroying cambodia and so forth!
their regime was about killing, execution, fear, oppression, dictatorial, etc, etc... people had no freedom, no saying, no medicine, no food to eat, except overworked, starving to death, dying like animals, and so forth. under these assholes rule, cambodia and khmer people have no hope, no freedom, nothing...! these lunatic can all go directly to hell as far as khmer people are concerned, really!
Neak Maneang BUN RANY chomteav THOM pin bat daiy is next. hahahahha. KOUN KHMER ANGKOR
You meant BANDIT Bun Rany?
All of them are Chinese and Youn Puppets too. They are hungry of Khmer blood. Put them in prison all their life. No excuse for them.
They are dictators and did bad role models for Khmer next generation by destroying Khmer good culture and spirit.
I want to vomit when I saw their faces. Intellectuals but act cruelly worse than animals.
I don't want to hate people because I am Buddhist , but I really hate them. I only saw this kind of devils in my life and in the human history. I feel ashame of Khmer people. I never forget and always have bad nightmare. They are true devils because they did not feel shame.
thok teap cheang derichhan tov teath.
តើមានអស់លោកណា មានរូបថតអ្នកស្រី អៀងធីរិទ្ធ ពីក្មេងឬទេ? តើគាត់ធ្វើអ្វីខ្លះពីមុន?
these asshole, stupid KR leaders gave educated people a bad name by what they did to khmer people and cambodia! they all should rot in hell, really! what did they do for cambodia? nothing, but suffering and taking khmer life, etc!
She was a former hooker behind Phsa Jass
cambodia and all khmer people, do not allow this kind of people to rule cambodia again! if we see they go that direction, get rid of them by the use of law, of course, asap! yes, learn from this dark history! do not let these kind of crazy, backward, stupid, igorant type of people rule cambodia and khmer people again, ever! god bless us all.
Her time is coming soon!
niss sout ter pouk praed derachan, akrok cheang sat tou teat, jas! douch tmal ait sesna kmean tar meta dol mnous khmer douch knea!
Dear Dr. Hun Sen and Ten Thousands stars Dr. Hun Manet,
Why do you and your relatives give Kos Trol, sea and lands to Vietnam? Why? and Why?
Why do you and all of your relatives involve a lot of murder cases in Cambodia? Why? Why?
Why do you murder Cambodian K5, 1997 events and so on and so on with lost count? Why?
If you are so good why do you and your families murder Cambodians? Why? And Why?
If you are so good, why do above 90% Cambodians are so poor but you and your relatives are billionaires and millionaires? Why? Why?
Why do you try to kill people from telling the true? Why? Why?
What is the difference from Khmer Rough and you, Sir?
If you are so good why do you block KI from Cambodians?
If you are so good, why do you steal all Cambodian life such as well being, health, cut down Cambodians life expectancy as well? But you and your small group are eat well, sleep well, exercise well, have oversea doctors and best medical treatment from high class private doctors from oversea. Most Cambodians that have no money, your healthcare system left Cambodians patients to die in front of your hospital. Why? Why?
If you are so good why more than 6 millions Vietnamese are living permanently in Cambodia, right now? Why, Dr. Hen Sen? And Why
Everywhere, I walk in Cambodia I see Vietnamese speak Vietnamese every where, why? Why?
Don't you and your families scare of hell for eternity?
When you die can you bring all of your power and money with you?
Dr. Hun Sen and Dr. Big ass lady and his beloved Dr. Hun Manet Please don't put us in jail or kill us for this! We want to live like you and your families do!
Khmers victim of 1997 and K5
PS
If Dr. Hun Sen and Dr. Hun Manet remove the tablet it is show they are extremely coward and his star are just joy stars given by his daddy not by patriotism. Dr. Hun Manet is very coward as his daddy they only aim to kill innocent Cambodians that all. Dr. Hun SEn and Dr. ten stars Hun Manet are very great at bullying Cambodians and killing Cambodians but cowardly toward Thai and Viet.
CPP are not just corrupted, CPP are extremely corrupt. They are even sell the country such as Kos Trol, Seas, lands, Cambodian people, Cambodian health and well being, all resources in the Cambodia…with lost count. You name it!
Seriously where is the win win policy of Dr. Hun Sen represent? The country is getting smaller and smaller and shame by Dr. Hun Sen and Dr. Hun Manet and his families, his relatives and friends.
these people are not human; we are looking at the he-devils and she-devil of the KR regime! use th law to send them all to hell permanently, really!
These three animal human specy are truely evils of 21 century. I cannot understand how their behavior were acceptable by other felloe cambodian. I cannot even value them to be a human bornt individual.
Areak Prey
1:31 am I agree with you
cambodia want the rich countries to help build our country back to pre-war condition and better. the industrialized countries, please help to rebuild my country again. we were war-torn, and now we want national reconstruction in all fields and areas of country.
Pourk A Ngorb Neung Mi Ngorb
IL FAUT LES METTRE EN PRISON : khiev samphan et ...toutes les membres de ANGKAR , pour rendre justice aux 1700 000 victimes khmers .
On discute beaucoup avec ces criminels.
Ca sera au moins dans l'histoire , pour les nouvelles générations khmères.
ខ្ញុំដេកមិនលក់ ក្រោយពិបានស្តាប់សំដីរបស់ខៀវសំផន។
យើងចង់ដឹងដែរថា៖ តើក្មេង៦ពាន់នាក់ ដែលប្រម៉ាត់ប្រម៉ង់យួនបានចាប់ទៅ កាលពីឆ្នាំ១៩៥៣-៥៤នោះ មានអ្នកណាខ្លះ? ក្នុងជួរខ្មែរក្រហម និងក្នុងជួររដ្ឋាភិបាល លោកហ៊ុនសែន?
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