Ruling Friday on Ieng Sary's detention

Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Written by Georgia Wilkins
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Khmer Rouge tribunal will hand down its decision whether to release Ieng Sary from pretrial detention in a public hearing on Friday.

Lawyers for the regime's former foreign minister appealed against his provisional detention in July, saying their client's rapidly deteriorating health was one of many reasons to release him ahead of his likely trial.

Ieng Sary, 82, has been in detention since his arrest last November for crimes allegedly committed during the 1970s regime.

An ageing process

Lawyers for Ieng Sary claimed at the time of the appeal that their client could hardly stand up and needed constant medical attention.

But prosecutors argued that the defendant was "not anywhere near" death. He has since been hospitalised several times since his arrest.

With the exception of Duch, who is in his mid-60s, all of the charged persons at the tribunal are in their 70s and 80s, and worries for their health have put pressure on the court to speed the process along.

Court spokesperson Reach Sambath said that the public hearings were important to the public's understanding of the trials.

"The public have a right to see [the hearing], it is an important process," he told the Post Tuesday.

Ieng Sary Detention Hearing Set for June

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2008

Jailed former Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary will have a June 30 hearing to determine the status of his detention, tribunal officials said Thursday.

Plagued by a number of health problems, Ieng Sary has sought in-house arrest, and his lawyers are asking that his hearing be limited in time.

The June 30 hearing will determine whether Ieng Sary is detained ahead of his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It will also address the question of whether a 1996 amnesty is valid, tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.

“Ieng Sary will be the last charged person in hearings among five suspects,” Reach Sambath.

Ieng Sary is currently under tribunal detention, along with his wife, Ieng Thirith, ideologue Nuon Chea, former nominal head Khieu Samphan, and former prison chief Kaing Khek Iev.

Ieng Sary has been hospitalized multiple times since his November 2007 arrest.

“I will propose to the court a limit to the hearing for a duration of only one hour and a half, cannot sit more than one hour and a half,” said lawyer Ang Udom. “He cannot sit for over one hour and a half.

Ieng Sary had also lost weight while in detention, Ang Udom said.