After Court Release, Questions Remains Over Ieng Thirith’s Health Care

The former “First Lady” of the Khmer Rouge is thought to have Alzheimer’s disease.

20 September 2012

Men Kimeng, VOA Khmer

WASHINGTON DC - With former Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Thirith now released from custody at the UN-backed tribunal, questions remain over who will pay her for her ongoing medical needs.

Ieng Thirith was found mentally unfit to stand trial at the court and handed over to her family on Sunday. She was ordered to surrender her passport and travel documents, leaving her to find health care in Cambodia, where most hospitals are far below the standards of neighboring countries.

The former “First Lady” of the Khmer Rouge is thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. She reportedly does not remember who her husband is, cannot recall important events from the past and has other physical health issues that need attention.

Victims Angered at Release of Senior Khmer Rouge Figure Ieng Thirith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4UcLhVpNvo

Victims Angered at Release of Senior Khmer Rouge Figure Ieng Thirith

Ieng Thirith, the former social affairs minister of Khmer Rouge regime during trial, file photo.

Victims at the court said Monday they did not believe she had a degenerative mental condition, which court medical experts say is likely Alzheimer’s.

17 September 2012

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

PHNOM PENH - Ieng Thirith, one of just five Khmer Rouge leaders to be detained by the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, was freed to the custody of her family Sunday, after the court deemed her mentally unfit to stand trial for atrocity crimes.

Victims at the court said Monday they did not believe she had a degenerative mental condition, which court medical experts say is likely Alzheimer’s. But court monitors say the court issued a fair decision following intense medical examination that upholds international court precedents.

Ieng Thirith was released on condition she notify the court if she moves residence, and she was forced to hand over her passport and other travel documents. She is still charged with atrocity crimes, including genocide, and will have to answer any summons issued by the court, according to the release order.

Khmer Rouge leader granted provisional release by UN-backed genocide court

Ieng Thirith during her preliminary hearing on 29 August 2011

16 September 2012
UN News Centre

A former Khmer Rouge leader found unfit to stand trial owing to medical reasons has been granted a provisional release by the United Nations-backed court in Cambodia that is trying those accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a mixed court set up under a 2003 agreement signed by the UN and the Government, ruled today that Ieng Thirith be released, provided that she inform the Court of the address where she will reside and not change residence without prior authorization.

She must also surrender her passport and any other travel documents, and remain in the territory of Cambodia, as well as respond to any summons issued by the Court.

Khmer Rouge leader freed

Monday 17 September 2012
AP

Cambodia's war crimes tribunal has freed a former Khmer Rouge leader, upholding a decision that has outraged survivors of the mass killings committed more than 30 years ago.

Ieng Thirith, 80, pictured, who has been declared mentally unfit for trial, was Pol Pot's first wife. She served as social affairs minister during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule, when an estimated 1.7 million people died

Prosecutors at UN-backed court want conditions placed on Khmer Rouge leader’s release

Ieng Thirith appears before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in October 2011 on her fitness to stand trial. Photo: ECCC/M. Peters

14 September 2012
UN News Centre

Prosecutors at the United Nations-backed Cambodia genocide court today appealed the decision to unconditionally release Ieng Thirith, a former senior member of the Khmer Rouge who was found unfit to stand trial, stating that certain restrictions should be placed on her freedom.

The trial chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), which held that Ieng Thirith is unfit to stand trial for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the Khmer Rouge regime, issued a decision on Thursday to release her unconditionally.

Expert psychiatrists who examined Ms. Thirith last year diagnosed her with clinical dementia, most likely Alzheimer’s, which would hinder her participation in court hearings.

Prosecutors in Cambodia want passport taken from ex-Khmer Rouge leader deemed unfit for trial

In this photo taken on Oct. 19, 2011 released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Ieng Thirith, foreground, the Khmer Rouge's former minister of social affairs, smiles during a hearing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Thirith will be set free after a court in Cambodia ruled Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, that she was medically unfit to stand trial for genocide, a decision survivors called shocking and unjust. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters)

September 14, 2012
SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Prosecutors urged Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal on Friday to confiscate the passport of a former regime leader it is about to free because it has deemed her medically unfit to stand trial.

The release of 80-year-old Ieng Thirith had been expected Friday, but it will be delayed at least a few days while the court considers prosecutors' request.

On Thursday, the United Nations-backed tribunal said it will free Ieng Thirith because she suffers from a degenerative illness, probably Alzheimer's disease. The court said the illness left "no prospect" for her to face trial.

Tribunal Rules Ieng Thirith Unfit for Trial

Ieng Thirith (Photo: Reuters)

The Trial Chamber ruled she was not likely to be fit for trial in the foreseeable future, but it did not drop charges of atrocity crimes against her.

14 September 2012

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

PHNOM PENH - Ieng Thirith, the former social affairs minister for the Khmer Rouge who has been jailed since 2007, has been found unfit to stand trial at the UN-backed tribunal and is scheduled to be released Friday morning.

Tribunal prosecutors have until tomorrow to appeal Thursday’s decision by the Trial Chamber of the court, which found that Ieng Thirith, who is 80, is unable to stand trial due to mental degradation, likely due to Alzheimer’s disease.

The Trial Chamber ruled she was not likely to be fit for trial in the foreseeable future, but it did not drop charges of atrocity crimes against her. She will not be allowed to leave the country and must not interfere with the work of the court. She must not contact witnesses or others involved in her case or the case of her husband, former foreign minister Ieng Sary.

Ieng Thirith was arrested and charged alongside Ieng Sary in November 2007. Ieng Sarry is currently on trial alongside two other regime leaders—Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan—for crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge under their leadership.

Pol Pot’s Sister-in-Law Deemed Unfit to Stand Trial, Released

Ieng Thirith (Photo: Reuters)

September 13th, 2012
Voice of America

Cambodia's United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal has ordered the release of Ieng Thirith, the aging sister-in-law of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.

On Thursday, the court said the 80-year-old – once dubbed the “First Lady” of the Khmer Rouge – is unfit to stand trial for genocide because of a degenerative illness, likely Alzheimer's disease.

The ruling, which upholds an earlier decision, found that all treatment options have been exhausted and that Thirith's sickness is “likely irreversible.”

She was charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide, torture and religious persecution related to the 1975-1979 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which resulted in the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians.

Khmer Rouge court experts unanimous: Ieng Thirith suffers from dementia

Former Khmer Rouge social action minister Ieng Thirith attends a public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia last year. She was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial in November. Photo Reuters

Friday, 31 August 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

Medical experts said there was no evidence that former Khmer Rouge Minister for Social Action Ieng Thirith has been feigning her cognitive impairment and told the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday that improvement of her mental abilities was not a prospect.

A panel of three court-appointed experts told the court categorically that they were of the opinion the only woman to be charged for Khmer Rouge crimes has a deteriorating form of moderate to severe dementia, most likely Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are united in our firm opinion that Ieng Thirith has significant dementia… there would be no advantage in trying any other medication or remedy,” New Zealand doctor John Campbell said, adding that none of the broad range of intensive treatments trialed by doctors had any influence on the deterioration of the genocide suspect’s cognitive function.

Experts at odds over Ieng Thirith

Former Khmer Rouge social action minister Ieng Thirith attends a public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia last year. She was ruled mentally unfit to stand trial in November. Photo Reuters

Ieng Thirith (front, center) in 1976

Friday, 31 August 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

Flying in the face of a seeming mountain of expert conclusions to the contrary, the personal psychiatrist for former Khmer Rouge minister for social action Ieng Thirith testified yesterday that her patient exhibited no signs of mental illness or cognitive impairment.

Chak Thida, treating psychiatrist of the one-time “first lady” of the Khmer Rouge, was at odds with the conclusion of the court-appointed expert panel that Ieng Thirith suffers from a moderate to severe form of dementia, most likely Alzheimer’s disease.

Thida instead testified that her patient was a “polite and neat” lady who spoke and read perfect French and engaged in all the usual, pleasant social interaction.

“I have not found any sign of mental illness in Ms Ieng Thirith,” Thida told the court, qualifying her faith in the mental fitness of Pol Pot’s sister-in-law with: “Although she has experienced some loss in memory.”

Birthday behind bars

Ieng Thirith, former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister, attends a hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on the outskirts of Phnom Penh last year. Reuters

Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Bridget Di Certo with additional reporting by Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

Accused former Khmer Rouge Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith spent her 80th birthday yesterday under the medical treatment and supervision of experts working to improve her mental health and thus her fitness to stand trial.

Ieng Thirith was found unfit to stand trial on the eve of the substantive hearings in Case 002 at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, with international Trial Chamber judges opining that she should be released.

However, on appeal, Supreme Court Chamber judges ordered she be treated for six months to see if her Alzheimer’s condition improved.

She is currently about halfway through this six-month treatment period.

Ieng Thirith Will Not Be Released Yet: Tribunal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_kWnkZ16nw

Court orders treatment for Ieng Thirith [-Good luck for Alzheimer treatment?!?!]

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A U.N.-backed court ordered former Khmer Rouge official Ieng Thirith be held and undergo treatment to try to rehabilitate her to stand trial for war crimes.

The Supreme Court Chamber granted Cambodian prosecutors' appeal Tuesday of a lower court decision last month to release Ieng Thirith because she was unfit to stand trial, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

The judges, on a 6-1 vote, ruled Ieng Thirith, 79, the former Khmer Rouge minister for social action, should continue medical treatment to try to improve her mental capacity and be re-examined in six months.

Khmer Rouge 'First Lady' Ieng Thirith will be detained

Wednesday, 14 December 2011
BBC News

The so-called First Lady of Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime must be held in detention, the UN-backed genocide court has ruled.

An earlier court decision said Ieng Thirith should be freed unconditionally after she was adjudged to be too ill to face trial with other leaders.

The 79-year-old is thought to suffer from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

The three most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are on trial for crimes against humanity.

Khmer Rouge defendant denied release by UN court

Wednesday, December 14, 2011
By Suy Se (AFP)

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal on Tuesday ruled against freeing the Khmer Rouge's ailing former "First Lady" on health grounds, and said she would undergo medical treatment instead.

The court's highest appeal body overturned a decision last month to unconditionally release Ieng Thirith, 79, after experts said she was unfit for trial because she has dementia and most likely Alzheimer's disease.

"The supreme court chamber concluded that the original ground for keeping the accused in provisional detention, namely to ensure her presence during the proceedings, remains valid and relevant," judges said in a statement.

Ieng Thirith Will Not Yet Be Released: Tribunal

Former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister Ieng Thirith sits at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, file photo. (Photo: VOA Khmer)

Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“If the court releases Ieng Thirith, I will stand in front of the convoy bringing her out of detention. I’ll let the cars hit me, because I’m not afraid to die.”

The Khmer Rouge tribunal said Tuesday it would not grant immediate release to jailed regime leader Ieng Thirith, who had been found mentally unfit to stand trial.

In a decision by the tribunal’s Supreme Court Chamber, an appeal by prosecutors to hold Ieng Thirith was granted.

“The Supreme Court Chamber found that the Trial Chamber must exhaust all available measures potentially capable of helping [Ieng Thirith] to become fit to stand trial,” the UN-backed court said in a statement.

Khmer Rouge defendant to stay detained until new exam determines mental fitness for trial

Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s U.N.-assisted tribunal ordered Tuesday that a Khmer Rouge defendant earlier ruled unfit to stand trial will remain detained to see if her mental condition improves.

The highest chamber of the tribunal reversed a ruling by junior judges that would have freed 79-year-old Ieng Thirith whose doctors concluded has Alzheimer’s disease. The lower panel had said the illness diminished her mental capacity. Prosecutors had appealed against her release.

The new ruling came during the second week of testimony in the trial of Ieng Thirith’s three co-defendants, who include her husband, Ieng Sary, foreign minister in the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime. Ieng Thirith was social affairs minister.

Supreme Court Chamber Sets Aside the Trial Chamber’s Order to Release Ieng Thirith from Detention

http://www.box.com/s/i9ojat5j37ukhyb783e5


http://www.box.com/s/x5l04c0nty4is682x3ju

Khmer Rouge 'first lady' claims dementia

Tue, 6 Dec 2011
Australia Network News

A decision has been delayed until next week over whether a senior member of the Khmer Rouge charged with war crimes in Cambodia will be allowed to go free.

The regime's so-called 'First Lady', Ieng Thirith, was last month deemed unfit to take part in a trial now under way because of dementia.

That ruling was immediately appealed by prosecutors, which left the final decision on whether the 79-year-old should be released unconditionally with the Supreme Court.