Monday, June 04, 2012

Top officials eyed in KRT probe: report

Monday, 04 June 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodian People’s Party heavyweights Chea Sim and Heng Samrin are named along with Cambodian Army chief Pol Sareoun and another senator as “persons of interest” in an investigation into government opposed Case 003 at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, Australian newspaper The Age reported yesterday.

International reserve co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet named the four as potentially having information about “atrocities committed against ethnic Vietnamese civilians living on the border with Cambodia”, the paper reported.

Additionally, documents obtained by the Post over the weekend show that Brother No 2 Nuon Chea’s defence team has filed a motion for public disclosure of the “forwarding order” by the now-resigned Swiss judge.

“In a forwarding order issued shortly before his departure (the ‘Forwarding Order’), Judge Kasper-Ansermet made it known to the [Office of the Co-Prosecutors] that – in his considered judicial opinion – Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, Ouk Bunchhoeun and Pol Sareoun may fall within the ECCC’s personal jurisdiction,” the request, filed on Friday, reads.


Under court rules, a “forwarding order” is issued by investigating judges to prosecutors when the judges have found new information that was not included in the original prosecutorial submissions. Prosecutors then must decide whether to file additional submissions directing investigations into these new facts.

According to The Age, “new facts” discovered by Kasper-Ansermet include “a premeditated attack on an undefended civilian Vietnamese village and a supposition that other similar attacks occurred, along with evidence of repeated incursions into Vietnamese territory”.

The confidential court document alleges the four are likely to have crucial information due to their positions of authority in the areas where the attacks, termed “brutal and illegal”, occurred, the paper reported.

If prosecutors decide to include the “new facts” in the investigations into Case 003 against air commander Sou Met and navy commander Meas Mut, it would mean more victims of the regime are entitled to apply for civil party status.

However, tribunal pre-trial chamber judges have previously taken a narrow approach to public information pertaining to cases 003 and 004.

When international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley last year attempted to give information to the public about the crime sites in Case 003, he was slapped with a gagging order by judges.

Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang has registered her disagreement over even the prospect of a Case 003 and said she is of the view that the ECCC “will fulfil its mandate” with Case 002, which is now being heard at the tribunal.

Additionally, even if the prosecutors, together or acting independently, decide to extend the parameters of Case 003 to include the “new facts” and consequently require investigations including investigations into the four named CPP officials, there is no guarantee this will actually occur.

Kasper-Ansermet’s Cambodian counterpart You Bunleng yesterday again affirmed that he did not recognise the legality of any of the Swiss national’s acts.

“As I already stated, I did not do any joint investigation with LKA, because he is not a legal international investigating judge. I only work with legal investigating judge,” said You Bunleng, who himself was on the committee that refused to endorse the UN’s appointment of Kasper-Ansermet.

You Bunleng said he is not conducting any investigative acts “as there is no international co-investigating judge, which means I am not allowed to do any investigation”.

Heng Samrin, Chea Sim and senator Ouk Buncchoeun were summonsed by the tribunal in September 2009 to give evidence during the investigation stage of Case 002 but did not comply with the order.

The Post reported that shortly after these senior politicians were summonsed, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said that while politicians “could appear in court voluntarily, the government’s position was that they should not give testimony”. He said that “foreign officials involved in the court” could “pack their clothes and return home” if they were not satisfied with the decision.

When contacted yesterday, Khieu Kanharith said he would not answer questions relating to the tribunal because he was busy monitoring the commune elections.

Cheam Yeap, spokesman for the CPP, and Pol Sareoun could not be reached for comment.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

These monkeys slave to youn, will be burn by youn.

Anonymous said...

Some short and truth about this so-called ECCC fair trial as follow:

1. How many foreign judges resigned so far?

2. Why Hun Sen kept interfering ?

3. Why Hun Sen always blocked Cases 03-04?

4. Why Hun Sen and Sihanouk not brought into this ECCC as Noun Chea and Khieu Samphan have requested?

5. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan want to talk about what happened before 1975, during 1975-1979 and after 1979, Why this ECCC so afraid of Noun Chea and Khieu Samphan talking before and after 1979?

6. And many bad things has going behind the closed door such as excluded Noun Chea and Khieu Samphan's witnesses and what is the real reasons behind those Khmer defiant lawyers resigned?

7. Hun Sen said those wanted to investigate Cases 003-004 must pack up their belonging and leave Cambodia.

Noun Chea and Khieu Samphan have been accused of war crimes, genocide and such, such but why since we have had this so-called ECCC Hun Sen always interfere and has done everything to block court process even using dirty trick such as corruption in this ECCC.

My answers is short and simple.

Because this is not only youn Hanoi ECCC in Cambodia but also US behind UN they both have tried to cover up their war crimes, crimes against Khmer humanity and youn Hanoi genocide and exterminate Cambodian ethnic and put Cambodia under youn annex as they did to Lao.

Khmer must not forget or ignore what had happened before 1975, during 1975-1979 and after 1979.

Khmer must not forget or ignore Indochina Federation and US carpet bombing in 1969s-1973 especially Indochina Federation to exterminate Khmer ethnic.

Anonymous said...

That's Heng Xoy's daddy!

Anonymous said...

Kuwaiti gets 10 years for Twitter blasphemy
Lawyer: Sentence was the maximum that 26-year-old man could have received
KUWAIT — A Kuwaiti man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media.
Shi'ite Muslim Hamad al-Naqi pleaded innocent at the start of the trial last month, saying he did not post the messages and that his Twitter account had been hacked.
The written verdict, delivered by Judge Hisham Abdullah, found Naqi guilty of all charges, a court secretary told Reuters. The sentence was the maximum that 26-year-old Naqi could have received, his lawyer Khaled al-Shatti said.
The judge found him guilty of insulting the Prophet, the Prophet's wife and companions, mocking Islam, provoking sectarian tensions, insulting the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and misusing his mobile phone to spread the comments.
"The prison sentence is long but we have the chance to appeal," Shatti said.
Under Kuwaiti law, the defense can file an appeal within 20 days of the verdict and jail sentences have been reduced in the past for similar convictions.
The civil plaintiff arguing the case against Naqi, as well as some Kuwaiti politicians, had called for Naqi to be executed in a case that stoked sectarian tensions in the Gulf state.
"This verdict is a deterrent to those who insult the Prophet Mohammad, his companions and the mothers of the believers," civil plaintiff Dowaem al-Mowazry said in a text message.
He had argued in court that Naqi must be made an example of.
Dozens of Sunni Muslim activists and lawmakers protested against Naqi shortly after his arrest and he was attacked in jail by a fellow inmate, according to the Interior Ministry.
Sectarian tensions
Naqi did not appear in court on Monday. He was in the central prison where he has been held since his arrest in March, the court secretary said. He appeared in previous sessions in a wooden and metal cage, guarded by armed men in black balaclavas.
The activists who protested against him accused Naqi of links to Shi'ite regional power Iran, something he has denied.
Shi'ites are thought to number between 20-30 percent of Kuwait's 1.1 million nationals. Vocal members can be found in senior positions in parliament, media and business.


Jerry the mouse in DUBAI, UAE.

Anonymous said...

IS IT THE MESSAGE FROM YOUR BOSS TO WARN AN IMPENDING
LAW SUIT FILED AGAINST KI-MEDIA ???

Mouse exterminator ,PP, Cambodia

Anonymous said...

"International reserve co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet named the four as potentially having information about “atrocities committed against ethnic Vietnamese civilians living on the border with Cambodia”, the paper reported."

= Investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet is such a fool to think that the four above former Rouge committed atrocities against the ethnic Vietnamese civilians living on the border with Cambodia! The Khmer Rouge leaders are not stupid enough to go into Vietnam! This is the former Cambodian territories called the Khmer Krom annexed by the Vietnam since 1942 and the majority of the Cambodian people lived there are Cambodian people!

The Vietcong government wants to claim that their people massacred by the Khmer Rouge leaders because they want the whole world to have sympathy for them! What about the 10 million Cambodian people (Khmer) who live (Southern Vietnam called Khmer Kampuchea Krom) and who have sympathy for them?

Before Investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet want to talk about the ethnic cleansing of the Vietnamese people by the Khmer Rouge leaders, judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet must first talk about the ethnic cleansing of the Cambodian people(Khmer) in Southern Vietnam(Khmer Kampuchea Krom)by the Vietcong government first!

In this case the ousted of Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet is justified!