[Ieng Sary's] Health Issues Delay Witness Testimony

Dr. Kim Somsan updates the court on Ieng Sary’s health at the ECCC on Monday.

August 13, 2012
By Mary Kozlovski
Source: http://www.cambodiatribunal.org

On Monday, August 13, 2012, trial proceedings in Case 002 involving accused Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, and Khieu Samphan, resumed at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Two intellectuals who returned to Cambodia from abroad during the Khmer Rouge period are set to resume testifying this week. Witness Suong Sikoeun, whose testimony was halted last Wednesday due to his poor health, was scheduled for questioning by the defense. Witness Ong Thong Hoeung, who lives in Brussels, was also prepared to testify.

However, the Trial Chamber suspended the morning session due to concerns over Ieng Sary’s health and his right to participate during the testimonies of Suong Sikoeun and Ong Thong Hoeung. After an additional medical examination of Ieng Sary, the Trial Chamber adjourned the hearing for the remainder of the day.

Evidentiary Hearing in Case 002 | August 13, 2012 (English)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iZfPNEjhsw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOA-PsEh38

Hearing for Ill Ieng Sary Postponed [-Hun Sen couldn't be more pleased by this news]

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 February 2009

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has postponed until April a hearing on jailed regime leader Ieng Sary, citing health concerns.

Chamber judges accepted an appeal by Ieng Sary’s attorneys to postpone a hearing until April 2, “due to the situation of health of the charged person,” judge Prak Kim San said at the end of an appeals hearing for the extension of provisional detention.

A doctor’s report on the health of Ieng Sary, 84, who was not present, had led to the conclusion, Prak Kim San said.

Ieng Sary’s American attorney, Michael Karnavas, said his client’s situation was “serious,” and he welcomed the postponement.

Ieng Sary is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as foreign minister of the regime.

His health remains the poorest among five jailed leaders, and he returned to detention for a two-day hospital visit Wednesday, following the discovery of blood in his urine.

Health Trouble Delays Appeal Of Khmer Rouge Foreign Min-Court

Thursday February 26th, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Judges on Thursday delayed an appeal by a former Khmer Rouge foreign minister for release from Cambodia's U.N.-backed war crimes court on health grounds, accepting that he was too ill to make his case.

Ieng Sary, 83, is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes but is asking for release from detention before trial on the grounds that life in jail is making him ill.

The decision to grant the postponement came despite accusations from the prosecution that he was trying to delay proceedings.

Judge Prak Kimsan told the court the appeal hearing was adjourned "because of the health condition of the charged person," and would resume Apr. 2.

Ieng Sary didn't attend Thursday's hearing, which occurred three days after he was hospitalized for blood in his urine.

He was discharged and sent back to his cell at the court Wednesday afternoon but his lawyer, Michael Karnavas, told judges he declined to appear because he was "very frail and gets high blood pressure."

Karnavas, a U.S. citizen, urged judges to provisionally release his client from jail and demanded a medical examination to see whether he was fit for trial.

"Pretrial detention is not a formal punishment and should not be used as formal punishment," the lawyer said. "A decision has to be made as to whether Mr. Ieng Sary is fit to stand trial physically or psychologically."

Ieng Sary has been rushed to hospital nine times since he was detained by the court in November 2007, and Karnavas has previously argued that staying in jail would kill him.

Karnavas told reporters he was interpreting Thursday's decision as a victory in his client's attempt to convince judges to release him.

Ieng Sary is one of five top regime cadres detained by the joint Cambodia-U.N. tribunal that was established in 2006, after nearly a decade of haggling over how to deliver justice for one of the 20th century's bloodiest episodes.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed, as the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 regime emptied Cambodia's cities in its drive to create a communist utopia.

As the top Khmer Rouge diplomat, Ieng Sary was frequently the only point of contact between Cambodia's secretive communist rulers and the outside world.

He has denied any involvement in past atrocities but researchers say he was also one of the biggest public supporters of the regime's mass purges.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 before facing justice, and fears over the health of aging suspects hang over the court.

Detention hearing for Khmer Rouge official delayed

Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Judges at Cambodia's genocide tribunal say they have delayed a hearing on whether to release the Khmer Rouge's former foreign minister from pretrial detention, citing his poor health.

Head judge Prak Kimsan said Thursday the hearing was postponed until April 2 following an appeal by Ieng Sary's attorneys on health grounds. Ieng Sary did not appear in court.

It is the second time that Ieng Sary, 83, has filed a petition for release since his arrest in 2007 on charges of crimes against humanity.

He was hospitalized Monday with a urinary infection and returned to his cell Wednesday.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal has charged five people in connection with the estimated 1.7 million deaths during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule.

Khmer Rouge foreign minister too ill to attend genocide tribunal

Feb 26, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Judges at Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal on Thursday postponed a hearing for the fallen regime's ailing former foreign minister after doctors declared him too ill to attend court.

Ieng Sary, 83, was due in court to appeal an order to extend his pre-trial detention but an early-morning health check found him unfit to attend the session.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers argued over whether to hold the hearing in his absence, but judges decided to adjourn the hearing to April 1.

The former schoolteacher suffers from heart disease and high blood pressure and was rushed to hospital on Monday night after blood was found in his urine.

It was his ninth hospitalization since he was arrested in November 2007.

He returned to the tribunal's detention facility on Wednesday afternoon.

Ieng Sary's lawyers argued for his release, saying his provisional detention was jeopardizing his physical and mental health.

'Provisional detention should not be used as punishment for alleged crimes, but there is indication it might be used in this way in this case,' international co-defence lawyer Michael Karnavas said at a press conference after the hearing.

Ieng Sary is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders facing trial for their roles in the deaths of up to 2 million people through execution, starvation or overwork during the radical group's 1975-79 reign of terror in Cambodia.

His wife, Ieng Thirith, is among the detainees.

The first stage of the trial of former Tuol Sleng torture facility chairman Kaing Guek Eav, known by his revolutionary name Duch, was held last week.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal announced on Monday that Duch's trial would resume on March 30.

He is the first detainee to be indicted for crimes against humanity.

Ailing Khmer Rouge leader leaves hospital: court

Sunday, August 10, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Ailing Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary has been discharged from hospital after one week of treatment and returned to the custody of Cambodia's genocide tribunal, a court official said Sunday.

The 82-year-old former foreign minister of the ultra-communist regime was rushed to Phnom Penh's Calmette Hospital on August 1 after he found blood in his urine.

He was taken back to the court on Friday afternoon, said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath.

"He is getting better now. However, the doctors are still taking care of him because he has many illnesses," he told AFP.

Ieng Sary is one of five top Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained by the United Nations-backed court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during their 1975-79 rule.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.

Ieng Sary was previously hospitalised in late January for treatment of a chronic heart condition. He was in hospital again in February, spending a week there after he began urinating blood.

Ieng Sary has suffered from deteriorating health since his arrest last November, highlighting the fragile condition of the tribunal's likely defendants, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s.

Their age and failing health has increasingly raised fears that some will not live long enough to be brought to trial.

Tribunal officials have said they expect the court's first trial to begin in September with proceedings against Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Duch," who ran a notorious torture centre in Phnom Penh.

Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister hospitalized in Cambodia

Friday, August 01, 2008
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary was rushed to hospital after he discovered blood in his urine, said a spokesman for Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court.

Ieng Sary, 82, is one of five top regime cadres charged in connection with the Khmer Rouge's bloody rule over Cambodia from 1975-79, when up to two million people died from starvation, overwork or execution. Ieng Sary was rushed from his jail cell to Phnom Penh's Calmette Hospital for treatment by doctors.

He has been hospitalized several times for a heart condition since he and his wife, former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, were arrested for war crimes and crimes against humanity in November.

Ieng Sary Ends Hospital Stint

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 March 2008

Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary ended a two-week stay in the hospital Thursday, as the tribunal moved closer to trials of five aging leaders.

Ieng Sary's release from the hospital came a day after Nuon Chea, the senior-most jailed Khmer Rouge leader, underwent a check-up.

Nuon Chea's lawyer Son Arun said Thursday he was appealing to tribunal judges to be appraised whenever his client is moved to the hospital.

Ieng Sary, the former Khmer Rouge foreign affairs minister, who is 82, was rushed to the hospital in February after urinating blood. His attorneys have argued he should not be kept in tribunal detention but held under house arrest.

Ailing Khmer Rouge leader discharged from hospital: court

Ieng Sary was previously hospitalised in late January for treatment of a chronic heart condition. (Photo: AFP)

March 6, 2008
AFP

PHNOM PENH - AILING Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary was discharged on Thursday from hospital after more than two weeks of treatment and returned to the custody of Cambodia's genocide tribunal, court officials said.

The 82-year-old former regime foreign minister was rushed to hospital Feb 20 for the third time this year amid growing concerns over his health ahead of the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, which are expected to start later this year.

Ieng Sary is one of five top regime cadres currently detained by the UN-backed court for crimes allegedly committed during their 1975-79 rule over Cambodia.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia during its ultra-communist rule.

'Ieng Sary has been discharged from hospital and was taken back to the court on Thursday morning,' tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath told reporters.

'The doctors said he is OK now,' he added.

Ieng Sary was previously hospitalised in late January for treatment of a chronic heart condition.

He was in hospital again earlier in February, spending a week under treatment after he began urinating blood.

Ieng Sary has suffered from deteriorating health since his arrest last November, according to his lawyer, highlighting the fragile condition of the tribunal's likely defendants who are mostly in their 70s and 80s.

Their condition has increasingly raised fears that some will not live long enough to be brought to trial.

Health issue will become an obstacle to the judgment of Brother No. 3 Ieng Sary

Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Samner Thmei
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Up until yesterday, Ieng Sary, the former minister of Foreign Affairs of the Khmer Rouge regime, did not yet leave the Calmette Hospital where his health is being taken care of since 20 February.

Ang Uddom, Ieng Sary’s lawyer, indicated that if Ieng Sary’s health condition does not improve, this situation can affect the progress of the ECCC because he cannot attend the tribunal hearing, therefore, how can this tribunal makes any judgment against him?

The 82-year-old Ieng Sary was a former high-ranking KR leader, among 5 other leaders who were arrested and charged by the ECCC. Ieng Sary, who was charged with war crime, is known to have heart ailment, arthritis, and bladder problems. He was sent to the hospital more frequently than the other KR leaders who are all temporary detained by the KR Tribunal (KRT).

Regarding Ieng Sary’s health condition, co-investigation Judge You Bun Leng said: “The KRT is paying attention to Ieng Sary’s health condition. We are asking foreign (medical) experts to issue an additional expert report on his health, so that we have better information for taking other measusers.”

You Bun Leng indicated that: “The decision to send Ieng Sary to receive health care or not is not made by the judge. If the doctors check him up, and they find that his disease must be treated, then we have to take care of him. If the doctors believed that the hospital has the necessary equipments to take care of him, and he is ordered to remain at the hospital, then we must abide by the doctors’ order. The tribunal only apply the law, but when it comes to health, it’s the doctors’ call.”

For Youk Chhang, DC-Cam director, Ieng Sary’s health condition is a cause of concern. However, he said: “With the (availability) of modern science, I believe that the Tribunal has the ability to take care of his health, because, the current regime is unlike the one under the KR regime where health service was very limited, and science will be able to protect his health.”

Regarding this issue, Reach Sambath, ECCC spokesman, declared that there is no limit to Ieng Sary’s stay at the hospital where his health can be followed up. Reach Sambath indicated that: “Ieng Sary’s health condition is not threatening. The reason he stay in the hospital is because, every time he return back to jail, his diseases start to flare right back up.” Reach Sambath said that in the very near future, Ieng Sary will leave the hospital, so his case will not affect the progress of the KRT.

Ieng Sary fit to face Cambodia's genocide tribunal

Khmer Rouge leader fit to face Cambodia's genocide tribunal

10/02/2008
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Detained Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary, one of five top cadres facing Cambodia's genocide tribunal, has returned to custody after being hospitalised for about a week.

The 82-year-old former Khmer Rouge foreign minister was sent to hospital on Monday after he began urinating blood, but was back in custody on Saturday. said .

Reach Sambath, spokesman for the UN-backed tribunal, says Ieng Sary "is now in good health".

Ieng Sary has suffered from deteriorating health since his arrest last November, together with his wife Ieng Thirith.

The pair were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in the Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-79 rule.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia during its ultra-communist rule.

Ieng Sary still hospitalized

Thursday, February 7, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Wednesday, there was no information yet as to whether Ieng Sary, the former Democratic Kampuchea minister of Foreign Affairs, was discharged from the hospital where he was sent to, because he was urinating blood. However, it was learnt that his health had been improving a lot. Ieng Sary was taken to the Calmette hospital on Monday after he urinated blood. Reach Sambath, the ECCC spokesman, told RFA that Ieng Sary was still at the hospital so that competent doctors can follow up on his health condition. Reach Sambath said the Ieng Sary’s health condition has improved but he need to be checked furthermore by the doctors.