Prosecutors Appeal Judges' Order for Duch

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
22 August 2008

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Khmer Rouge tribunal prosecutors issued an appeal to the investigating judges' order for jailed prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, claiming the order did not charge him for a number of crimes.

Investigating judges issued their closing order, which includes indictments of the defendant, earlier this month, and the appeal by prosecutors will mean a revision of the order and a further delay of a trial for the defendant, better known by his revolutionary name, Duch.

Duch, 65, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as the director of Tuol Sleng, known by the Khmer Rouge as S-21. He has been in the custody of military courts and the tribunal since 1999.

In a statement released Thursday, tribunal prosecutors said the judges' order "does not charge Duch for his responsibility, as co-perpetrator, for a significant number of crimes that occurred as part of a joint criminal enterprise inside S-21."

Tribunal co-investigating judge You Bunleng said Thursday the appeal will delay Duch's trial, but he was confident his investigation was complete.

The appeal would be up to the Pre-Trial Chamber to consider, he said.

Long Panhavuth, a project officer for the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is monitoring the tribunal, said it the Pre-Trial Chamber, in general, must consider the rights of the accused, but they could also expedite the process to move toward a trial.

Hisham Mousar, a tribunal observer for the rights group Adhoc, said the Pre-Trial Chamber could take "quick action" to rule on the appeal, but "slow action" could take as long as two months to decide.

Trial of ex-Khmer Rouge jailer to be delayed [... again?]

Friday, August 22, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Plans to begin the trial of a former Khmer Rouge jailer will be delayed by the prosecutors' attempt to have more charges added to the indictment of the suspect, judges for Cambodia genocide tribunal complained on Friday.

The delay is regrettable, the judges said in a statement a day after the tribunal's prosecutors decided to appeal the indictment for Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch.

Duch headed the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh in the late 1970s. About 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been held at the prison, which served as a torture center for the Khmer Rouge. Only 14 are thought to have survived.

The number is a small fraction of the estimated 1.7 million deaths attributed to the radical policies of the communist Khmer Rouge, who held power in 1975-79.

The trial for Duch, 66, had been expected to open in late September.

But it now "will be delayed by the appeal" of the prosecutors, the investigating judges said in a brief statement Friday.

While "regretting" the delay, the judges said they "remain determined to do their utmost to ensure that justice is rendered to the Cambodian people as speedily as possible."

It is not clear how long it will take to rule on the prosecutors' appeal.

Many fear the five former Khmer Rouge leaders in detention may die before they face justice.

On Thursday, the tribunal's prosecutors said they will seek to have charges of homicide and torture - crimes under Cambodian national law - added to the indictment.

They said limiting the indictment to charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, which fall under international law and for which Duch has been indicted, "may prevent the trial chamber from fully accounting for Duch's criminal responsibility" during his tenure at the prison.

The prosecutors argued that Duch should also be charged "for his responsibility as a co-perpetrator for a significant number of crimes that occurred as part of a joint criminal enterprise inside" the prison.

They said their mandate "is not just to prosecute certain individuals but ... also to ensure the recording of a full and truthful account of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and the individual criminality of those responsible for them.

More charges sought against Khmer Rouge jailer

Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Prosecutors at Cambodia's genocide tribunal said Thursday they will seek to have more charges added to the indictment issued against a former member of the Khmer Rouge who headed the group's most notorious prison.

A senior genocide researcher said the plan to appeal the court's indictment could cause another snag in efforts to convene the trial of Kaing Guek Eav - also known as Duch - who headed the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh in the late 1970s.

The trial for Duch, 66, has been expected to open in late September.

About 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been held at the prison, which served as a torture center for the Khmer Rouge. Only 14 are thought to have survived.

The number is a small fraction of the estimated 1.7 million deaths attributed to the radical policies of the communist Khmer Rouge, who held power in 1975-79.

In a prepared statement, the prosecutors said the charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for which Duch has been indicted "may prevent the trial chamber from fully accounting for Duch's criminal responsibility" during his tenure at the prison.

"They believe that there should be a wider scope to the charges," Peter Foster, a tribunal spokesman, said Thursday.

In their final submission in July, the prosecutors had also sought to have Duch charged for homicide and torture — crimes under Cambodian law — in addition to crimes against humanity and war crimes under international law.

But last week, after finishing their mandated probe, the investigating judges issued their order indicting Duch only for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The prosecutors argued in response that Duch should also be charged "for his responsibility as a co-perpetrator for a significant number of crimes that occurred as part of a joint criminal enterprise inside" the prison.

They said their mandate "is not just to prosecute certain individuals but ... also to ensure the recording of a full and truthful account of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and the individual criminality of those responsible for them."

The prosecutors said they will file their appeal before the statutory deadline of Sept. 10.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent group researching Khmer Rouge atrocities, said he feared that the prosecutors' move would cause a further delay to the trial, which will come almost three decades after the fall of the group.

"It won't ease the frustration of the public," he said. Many fear the five former Khmer Rouge leaders in detention may die before they face justice.