Mon Dieu! French Lawyer Erupts in Cambodian Court

April 24, 2008
Posted by Dan Slater
The Wall Street Journal

For all you jet-setting lawyers who practice abroad, consider this cautionary tale. A French attorney, unhappy that court documents hadn’t been translated into his native language, erupted before Cambodia’s genocide tribunal yesterday, earning himself a warning from the court and a postponement of the hearing.

The lawyer, Jacques Verges, 83, is representing Khieu Samphan, whom the tribunal has charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, from 1975-79. (Here’s the AP story.) Khieu Samphan, 76, has repeatedly denied responsibility for any atrocities.

Verges reportedly stormed out of Wednesday’s closed-door hearing, telling reporters that judges had asked Khieu Samphan to find a new lawyer. “French is an official language of the tribunal. There is not one page of the case file against Mr. Khieu Samphan translated into French,” Verges told reporters, speaking in French. “I should be capable of knowing what my client is blamed for.” He added: “I have been a lawyer for 50 years, it is the first time I have seen judges ask an accused to change his lawyer. This is a scandal!” he said.

The lawyer, Verges, reports the AP, has earned notoriety with a client list that includes Nazi Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie, Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal and former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Verges and Khieu Samphan apparently met when they both were active in left-wing student activities in Paris in the 1950’s.

French lawyer for Khmer Rouge leader challenges tribunal, triggering new delay

Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A French lawyer known for his provocative style and infamous clients has taken center stage at the tribunal on Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge leaders, challenging the judges and adding to the woes of an already troubled court.

The aggressive stance taken by Jacques Verges at an appeal by former Khmer Rouge president Khieu Samphan for release from pre-trial detention Wednesday augurs possible new hurdles for the tribunal, plagued over the past few years by political wrangling, corruption scandals and inadequate financing.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal seeks justice for the 1.7 million people who died from starvation, disease, overwork and execution as a result of the communist Khmer Rouge's radical attempt to build a classless society when they held power in 1975-79. Khieu Samphan has denied responsibility for the atrocities.

But the spotlight Wednesday was on the 83-year-old Verges, who triggered a delay in the pre-trial hearing with an outburst over the court's failure to translate case documents into French.

Verges is every bit as controversial as the people he defends, going back five decades ago to Algerian freedom fighters accused of terrorism. His notoriety is such that he was the subject of a feature-length documentary film last year, "Terror's Advocate."

The list of his past clients includes included Nazi Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie and French collaborators, Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal and various Palestinian hijackers, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, and confessed serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

He has also looked after the interests of Saddam Hussein and several brutal African dictators -- but has represented some true underdogs as well, mainly working-class citizens from France's ethnic minority communities.

Verges himself was born in northeastern Thailand to a French diplomat and a Vietnamese mother, a union said to have hurt his father's career. He has suggested his ethnic background has made him sympathetic to underdogs and outcasts.

Verges has said he likes to employ what he calls a "rupture" strategy, questioning the legitimacy of the court and accusing it of being a tool of injustice.

On Wednesday he described the tribunal's case against Khieu Samphan as "invalid from the start."

Verges and Khieu Samphan, 76, have said they have known each other since they both were active in left-wing student activities in Paris in the 1950s.

The tribunal has charged Khieu Samphan with crimes against humanity and war crimes, detaining him since last November.

Wednesday's closed-door hearing on Khieu Samphan's appeal was abruptly adjourned when Verges refused to continue, protesting that Khieu Samphan's case file — thousands of pages of documents — had not been translated into French.

"French is an official language of the tribunal. There is not one page of the case file against Mr. Khieu Samphan translated into French," Verges explained afterward to reporters. "I should be capable of knowing what my client is blamed for."

After Verges refused to participate further, the judges suggested Khieu Samphan might want to appoint a new lawyer to represent him_ and then adjourned the hearing.

"I have been a lawyer for 50 years, it is the first time I have seen judges ask an accused to change his lawyer. This is a scandal!" he said. "This never happens except in dictatorships!"

The tribunal's judges said in a statement issued late Wednesday that they will "issue a warning" to Verges for courtroom behavior causing the hearing's postponement.

Tribunal rules allow for disciplinary actions, including dismissing lawyers for offensive or abusive behavior obstructing the proceedings.

One of the Cambodian prosecutors, Chea Leang, acknowledged to reporters that the court is facing difficulty translating documents for all its cases into the three official languages used by the tribunal — Khmer, English and French.

But she said Verges' refusal to participate in the hearing was "unreasonable" because the proceedings were not part of the actual trial.

The long-delayed tribunal is expected to hold its first trial later this year. Many fear the Khmer Rouge's aging leaders could die before being brought to justice; four other senior former Khmer Rouge are being held for trial.

Khieu Samphan has blamed the late Khmer Rouge chief Pol Pot for the group's policies, including decisions to purge many Khmer Rouge cadres suspected of being disloyal or spies.

Attorney for Khmer Rouge head of state scolds judges

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Associated Press

"This is a scandal! ... This never happens except in dictatorships!" - Jacques Vergès, Khieu Samphan's defense lawyer

PHNOM PENH: The genocide tribunal in Cambodia abruptly adjourned a pretrial hearing for the former Khmer Rouge head of state Wednesday after his French attorney erupted at judges because the case file had not been translated into French.

The judges later said they would issue a warning to the lawyer, Jacques Vergès, for courtroom conduct causing the hearing's postponement.

Vergès, one of the lawyers representing Khieu Samphan, 76, in his appeal against pretrial detention, has earned notoriety with a client list that includes the former Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie, the Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal, the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and the confessed serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

Vergès stormed out of the closed-door hearing Wednesday, telling reporters that judges had asked Khieu Samphan to find a new lawyer.

"French is an official language of the tribunal. There is not one page of the case file against Mr. Khieu Samphan translated into French," Vergès, speaking in French, told reporters. "I should be capable of knowing what my client is blamed for."

Vergès said he had told the tribunal that its failure to translate the thousands of pages in the case file rendered the proceedings "invalid," and that the tribunal had responded by asking Khieu Samphan to find a new lawyer.

"This is a scandal!" Verges said. "This never happens except in dictatorships!"

Vergès, 83, has known Khieu Samphan since both were active in left-wing student activities in Paris in the 1950s.

The tribunal has charged Khieu Samphan with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed while the Khmer Rouge held power in 1975-79. Approximately 1.7 million people are estimated to have died from starvation, disease, overwork or execution as a result of the regime's radical policies in trying to build a classless agrarian society.

The prosecutors' explanation of the hearing's adjournment was similar to that given by Vergès. "Jacques Vergès has chosen not to participate," said a co- prosecutor, Alexander Bates.

"The pretrial chamber's judges decided to remind" the defendant "that he was entitled to choose a lawyer - another lawyer but this one," Bates said.

Khieu Samphan has been detained by the tribunal since Nov. 19. He is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders in custody.