KRT graft complaint killed on appeal

Michiel Pestman (right), co-defence lawyer for Nuon Chea, speaks to reporters at the Appeal Court in Phnom Penh yesterday. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Thomas Miller
The Phnom Penh Post

Lawers for Khmer Rouge Brother No 2 Nuon Chea expressed chagrin yesterday after they attempted to add new evidence to a criminal complaint filed in Cambodian courts concerning graft allegations at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, only to find that the case had been closed nearly two years ago.

The defence team also claimed yesterday that corruption at the tribunal was “as acute as ever”.

Nuon Chea’s attorneys wanted the Appeal Court to consider four diplomatic cables from the United States embassy in Phnom Penh, made public earlier this month by WikiLeaks.

Attorney Michiel Pestman said the “most compelling” new information was contained in a November 2008 dispatch claiming that Knut Rosandhaug, deputy director of administration for the Khmer Rouge tribunal, knew of five witnesses who could give evidence in an alleged kickback scandal.

Court to revisit tribunal graft case

Wednesday, 03 June 2009
Written by Georgia Wilkins
The Phnom Penh Post

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court prosecutors are considering reopening a criminal case into alleged kickbacks at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, defence lawyers said after a meeting with court officials Tuesday.

"They said they were going to move [the case] forward," Michiel Pestman, co-lawyer for Nuon Chea said, adding that prosecutors had "promised" to obtain a copy of a report on graft claims by the UN's oversight body, which was done in September but never made public. Pestman also said they were likely to summon director of administration Sean Visoth, who has been absent from the court for six months.

Ouk Savuth, deputy prosecutor at the Court of Appeals, said that he had received the case, but hadn't decided whether to reopen it.

The lawyers tried to meet with government officials Tuesday, but said the officials had declined to hold talks.

They also expressed concern about recently surfaced documents affiliating Helen Jarvis, a former press officer at the court and its current Victims' Unit head, with a Marxist political faction in Australia.

"[Her political beliefs] could have an influence on the fairness of the procedures," Pestman said. Jarvis and Richard Rogers, chief of defence, declined to comment Tuesday.

Khmer Rouge tribunal may collapse

13-04-2009
By Johan van Slooten
Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Click here to listen to the interview with Victor Koppe

Before its first verdict has even been reached some observers fear the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia may collapse because of interference by the Cambodian government.

Dutch lawyer Victor Koppe is defending Nuon Chea, one of the highest ranking officials of Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge regime which ruled - and ravaged - the country and its people with a hard hand in the 1970s.

Mr Koppe has just returned from Cambodia after witnessing the first two weeks of the trial against former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch.

Confessions and corruption

Although the confessions which Duch has made might be seen as a promising sign for the remainder of the trials, Mr Koppe is not so optimistic. He is worried that the tribunal may collapse, especially after last week's statement by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in which he said he hopes "the funds for the tribunal will dry up fast". Victor Koppe on the background to this remark:

"The official reason is that the prosecution of former Khmer Rouge figures may lead to increased unrest in some regions. Mr Hu Sen wants to prevent that. There are also accusations that the tribunal is corrupt, which in my opinion is true."

Establishment

But there may be other reasons for Mr Hun Sen's objections to the tribunal, Mr Koppe suspects. Some former Khmer Rouge officers now occupy high positions in Cambodia's political establishment, including Mr Hun Sen's own party.

The government has allegedly tried to influence the tribunal's judges and prosecutors about who should be prosecuted and who should go untried. "Perhaps he doesn't want to upset the applecart too much", Mr Koppe says, adding that even the judges are losing their faith in the tribunal.

Reconciliation

Yet the long anticipated Khmer Rouge tribunal was supposed to provide a way for Cambodia to come to terms with its past. Justice and reconciliation are key factors here. Ending the trials prematurely would dent Cambodia's international reputation, Mr Koppe says:

"Bizarrely, it's Cambodia itself who asked the UN to set up the tribunal. It would be very upsetting if after one trial, the whole tribunal would be done with. It would also be very hard for the international community to swallow."

Some observers now say it would have been better for the tribunal to take place outside Cambodia. But Mr Koppe disagrees:

"I was there during the first hearing at the Duch trial and the public area was fully booked and overcrowded. You wouldn't have that if it was here in The Hague, for instance. So if the structure is solid and everyone is able and allowed to do their work properly, then Cambodia is the best place for this tribunal."

No advantage

If the tribunal were to collapse, those who are to stand trial before it - such as Victor Koppe's client Nuon Chea - would probably be worse off as a result. The Dutch lawyer explains what his client would likely face in that case:

"He would be tried by Cambodian judges rather than international ones, and we think the Cambodians are more biased ... It would lead to some kind of show trial".

Therefore, as Mr Koppe views the situation it's of key importance to both Cambodia and people such as his client that the tribunal continues its work. But it seems that this will require not only its surviving the opposition it is meeting within Cambodia but also, as the Dutch lawyer explains, its continued funding from international donors.

Defence lawyers urge Sok An to hand over KRT corruption info

Friday, 07 November 2008
Written by Georgia Wilkins
The Phnom Penh Post

Defence lawyers for Nuon Chea say graft claims could threaten their client's right to a fair trial, with credibility of the court at stake

LAWYERS for former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea have written a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Sok An demanding the disclosure of any communication between the government and the United Nations regarding corruption at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post Thursday, is the second by the defendant's legal team, who claim that graft allegations could threaten their client's right to a fair trial. The first was sent in September to ECCC administration director Sean Visoth and United Nations coordinator Knut Rosandhaug, who both replied that they were unable to provide the requested information.

"Given the stated positions of the United Nations and the Cambodian side of the ECCC, it is left for us to seek assistance from your office," co-lawyers Michiel Pestman and Victor Koppe wrote.

"We hereby request from the [government] disclosure of (i) any communications and/or reports from the United Nations relating to issues of corruption at the ECCC and (ii) any further details of allegations of corruption at the ECCC in your possession, including the positions and/or departments of the alleged malefactors."

The letter cited the UN's response, which claimed it would not oppose disclosure of the requested material "should the Royal Government of Cambodia agree to disclose such communications" as the basis of their request. Cambodian lawyer Son Arun's signature was absent from the letter.

Still no news

Allegations that Cambodian staff were kicking back a portion of their salary to their bosses were reviewed by a UN oversight body in New York in July. Since this time, no court officials have commented on the results, despite the UN claiming that they had finished the review and a government statement in September saying that they had seen it.

An August circular by Sok An indicated future graft complaints will remain confidential until reviewed by a government-led task force.

Graft could taint trials at the KRT: defense lawyers

Thursday, 25 September 2008
Written by Georgia Wilkins
The Phnom Penh Post

Nuon Chea's defence team requests details of graft claims, saying their client's right to fair trial may be in jeopardy

NUON Chea's defence team at the Khmer Rouge tribunal has demanded the disclosure of any details of court corruption allegations, saying that a graft scandal could threaten their defendant's right to a fair trial.

"We note the recent and well-publicised allegations of corruption at the ECCC and the fact that the Cambodian government has now received the United Nations assessment of the matter," the lawyers, Son Arun, Michiel Pestman and Victor Koppe, wrote in a September 19 letter to court administrators.

"Without speculating as to the veracity of the allegations, we simply wish to raise a general issue: Corruption within the tribunal may adversely affect the accused persons' right to a fair trial," the lawyers said.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Post Wednesday, was addressed to ECCC administration director Sean Visoth and deputy director Knut Rosandhaug.

Even judges concerned

It cited a statement made in August by tribunal Judge Sylvia Cartwright, saying she spoke on behalf of all the judges when she said corruption was a "major issue" at the court.

"Because we have not been informed of either the extent of the allegations or the existence and/or appropriateness of the tribunal's official response to them, we are unable to properly assess the gravity of the situation from the perspective of our client's fair-trial rights," the lawyers said.

The letter also requests details of the efforts made by the UN secretary general's special representative, David Tolbert, to address the issue of corruption and "any resulting or intended ECCC remedial action" towards the issue of graft.

"We regard such information as important to ensuring the essential preconditions of a fair trial," the lawyers said.

Court spokeswoman and newly appointed ethics monitor Helen Jarvis declined to comment on the letter, but said "the amount of time the media has spent on this issue [of corruption] as opposed to the progression of the court is getting out of proportion".

She also said that she believed the letter had not yet been received by its intended recipients.

Allegations that Cambodian staff were kicking back a portion of their salary to their bosses were reviewed by a UN oversight body in New York. Court officials have yet to comment on the results, despite a government statement saying that they have seen the review.

A circular sent in August by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An indicated future graft complaints will remain confidential until reviewed by a government-led task force.

Cambodia's judges and lawyers do the government's bidding: Victor Koppe, Nuon Chea's lawyer

Controversy at the Cambodia tribunal: Dutch lawyer debarred after challenging authorities

Victor Koppe

02-02-2008
By our correspondent Michel Maas
Radio Netherlands Worldwide

It had all the hallmarks of a bad omen. The tuk-tuk driver couldn't find Phnom Penh's Royal Palace. It's like a Paris cabbie telling you he doesn't know where the Eiffel Tower is.

Dutch lawyer Victor Koppe was almost late for the session at the appeals court, across from the palace, where he was to be sworn in as a member of the Cambodian bar. An unlikely coincidence, he thought, could this be a conspiracy?

Earlier this week Mr Koppe ruffled feathers by demanding the resignation of one of the Cambodian judges of the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, due to start its work on Monday.

The judge in question, Ney Thol, is a prominent member of the ruling Communist party and an army general, and presided over Cambodia's military tribunal - not someone to be easily removed.

On Monday, the court is to begin hearing Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's most senior surviving leader, accused of being responsible for the murder of 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979.

Of the five top leaders the tribunal is to try, he is the highest-ranking. Also known as "Brother Number Two", Nuon Chea was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who died in 1997.

Unauthorised

It didn't take long before the Dutch lawyer was confronted with the consequences of challenging Cambodia's authorities. On Friday, Cambodia's bar refused to swear him in. By signing a petition requesting the judge's removal before being sworn in, the Dutch lawyer overstepped his bounds and was debarred as a punishment.

Ly Tai Seng, the bar's secretary-general, was quick to deny that his dismissal was a reprisal by the Cambodian government. Unasked, he emphasised there had been "no political pressure".

Tribunal in peril

The bar's ruling threatens to jeopardise the tribunal's procedures. Mr Koppe warned that if the court barred him from defending Mr Chea, no other lawyers would attend the hearing either. And without lawyers, he explained, there can be no hearing.

Brother Number Two Nuon Chea

If the tribunal were to press ahead anyway, that would be "the end of the tribunal's legitimacy". Helen Jarvis, a spokeswoman for the tribunal, however, announced the hearing would go ahead as planned.

Dented image

The row has tarnished the image of the tribunal, which is to begin its hearings after ten years of wrangling between Cambodia and the international community. The request to remove Judge Thol because of his ties with the army and the Communist party has raised doubts about the tribunal's qualifications.

The tribunal falls under Cambodian law and most of its judges are Cambodian. The bar's ruling, concludes Mr Koppe, shows that both Cambodia's judges and lawyers do the government's bidding. Postponing Monday's hearing would only further undermine the tribunal's credibility.

Nuon Chea's lawyer calls for the removal of CPP Ney Thol from the ECCC bench

Ney Thol, the CPP judge, chief of Cambodia's military courts and ECCC judge. He sent opposition MP Cheam Channy to jail in a travesty of justice in 2005.

Nuon Chea Calls for Judge’s Removal

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
29 January 2008

The lawyer of jailed Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea has called for the removal from the proceedings of judge Ney Thol, who is also the chief of Cambodia’s military courts.

Lawyer Victor Koppe confirmed Tuesday he had filed a motion to disqualify Ney Thol, but Koppe declined to elaborate.

“We are waiting for the response of the prosecution and the decision of the ECCC,” he said, referring to the tribunal by its official name, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

Legal experts said Ney Thol’s dual positions could constitute a conflict of interest, but Ney Thol said Tuesday the motion was “inappropriate.”

Ney Thol recused himself from a hearing for Kaing Khek Iev, alias Duch, in November, because the former prison chief had been held for years under the military courts.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath declined to comment on the motion.

Nuon Chea is to face a hearing for his pre-trial release Feb. 4.