Infighting continues to plague tribunal

Thursday, 27 October 2011
Bridget Di Certo and Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

The Office of the Co-Investigating Judges yesterday hit back at a critical opinion of their investigation into the court’s third case by pre-trial chamber international judges, made public on Tuesday.

The Post yesterday reported that international judges Rowan Downing and Katinka Lahuis identified judicial mismanagement by the co-investigating judges in their handling of New Zealander Rob Hamill’s civil party application, including revelations that documents had backdated and altered.

The tribunal issued a unofficial translation of a statement from the “Office of the Co-Investigating Judges” – which currently only consists of Cambodian Judge You Bunleng – detailing the office’s handling of Hamill’s civil party application.

“To ensure transparency and avoid any speculation in the media, the Co-Investigating Judges will make public available documents relating to the current matter,” the statement read.

In another development on Monday, one of the four remaining senior leaders accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva conventions, asserted that he would not testify during hearings in the court’s second case.

With opening statements in Case 002 set to commence in less than a month, former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary issued a notice that he would not testify throughout the proceedings.

Of the four senior leaders set to stand trial, Ieng Sary is the only suspect to bow out of giving testimony, with the Trial Chamber yet to reach a decis-ion on whether former Khmer Rouge “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea and former social action minister Ieng Thirith are fit to stand trial.

Last week, psychiatric experts testified that Ieng Thirith suffered from dementia.

The possibility of three suspects in the Case 002 hearings not testifying comes as news that another prominent figure at the tribunal – International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley – has been shortlisted to take over as chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

On Saturday, the Search Committee for the Position of Prosecutor at the ICC announced that it had nominated Cayley, among a shortlist of three others, for the top position.