Face expression of elderly Cambodians in waiting

Left: An elderly Cambodian woman waits to attend the UN-backed genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh. Cambodia's genocide tribunal postponed Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's first public court hearing Monday amid a row over his legal team, raising concerns for further delays to the UN-backed proceedings.(AFP/Saeed Khan)

Right: Noun Chea, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, waits during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo /Tang Chhin Sothy, Pool)

Lawyer Glitch Postpones Nuon Chea Hearing [-Ky Tech's CBA shows its ugly head again]

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
04 February 2008

Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea successfully argued for the delay of the first tribunal hearing against him Monday, convincing judges he did not have a foreign lawyer legally qualified to represent him.

“May I respect the ECCC,” Nuon Chea said, addressing the tribunal by its official acronym, for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. “I am Nuon Chea, a defendant. My opinion is that, why is there a hearing today, when I only have one Cambodian co-lawyer, not in line with international standards? Therefore, I think that there is no justice. I need to have two lawyers, according to the law of this court. If there is only one Cambodian lawyer, and there is no foreign lawyer, [he] cannot defend me at this time. I ask the court to postpone.”

The judges agreed, along with other court jurists and outside observers.

Dutch lawyer Victor Koppe has not been admitted to the Cambodian bar, making him ineligible under tribunal regulations, which requires a defense team of at least one Cambodian and foreign lawyer.

Koppe violated the rules of the courts when he petitioned for the removal of a tribunal judge ahead of the hearing, without having been sworn in by the Cambodian Bar Association, the Associated Press reported.

Pre-trial co-prosecutor Chea Leang said the postponement decision was “very appropriate,” adding that the prosecutors “respect the rights of the accused, as stated in the law.”

No new hearing date was set, but pre-trial judge Prak Kimsan said he would expect communication from Nuon Chea’s primary foreign defense attorney, Michiel Pestman, who has not yet arrived in Cambodia.

“Please, guards, take the defendant to the detention center,” Prak Kimsan ordered after the decision.

Prior to the hearing, victims of the Khmer Rouge regime gathered outside the tribunal facilities, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Um Pum, 77, from Kampong Speu province, said the delay would not change the ultimate outcome of Nuon Chea’s trial.

“Go ahead with the procedure,” said Um Pum, who lost 16 family members to the regime. “When he can find a lawyer, even 20 of them, he will still be sentenced. His lawyers cannot defend him.”

Khmer Rouge's Brother Number 2 Appears in Court

Noun Chea, former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, looks on during hearing, 04 Feb 2008 (Photo: AP)

By Rory Byrne
Voice of America
Phnom Penh
04 February 2008

Almost 30 years after the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, the group's second-in-command made his first appearance in court Monday. Noun Chea is charged with crimes against humanity and other serious offenses. But, after a brief hearing, the court was adjourned to a later date over a dispute concerning the legal status of one of his defense lawyers. Rory Byrne reports from Phnom Penh.

Appearing old and frail but still defiant, Noun Chea, made his first appearance in court almost 30 years after the brutal Khmer Rouge were swept from power by invading Vietnamese troops and their Cambodian allies.

At 81 years old, Noun Chea has spent most of the past three decades living freely in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin, near the Thai border. He was arrested more than four months ago and is being held at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal's purpose-built facility outside Phnom Penh.

Known as Brother Number Two, Noun Chea is believed to have been the chief ideologue of the secretive Khmer Rouge and right-hand man to leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

In 1997, Noun Chea was granted amnesty from prosecution by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in return for defecting to the government with thousands of Khmer Rouge troops, leading many to fear he would escape justice. Helen Jarvis is the spokeswoman for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

"This is, of course, a very important day that Noun Chea, who was known as [Brother] Number Two, is appearing in court for the very first time. So for many people this is an important moment that they thought perhaps would never happen," Jarvis said.

For many of the victims of the Khmer Rouge, the appearance of such a high-ranking KR leader in court is deeply significant. Many hope they will finally see justice done to those deemed 'most responsible' for the deaths of almost two million Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge's rule from 1975 to 1979.

Like many Cambodians, Huy Chhum, 75, from Takeo province close to the Vietnam border, lost scores of family members in those years, including his wife, brother and son.

"Today, I'm feeling better that the man who is responsible for the killing of my family is appearing in court," Huy said. "My anger has come down from 100 percent to about 70 percent because there are lawyers and prosecutors here who can punish this man for the terrible mistakes he made in the past."

Noun Chea's appearance in court was quickly adjourned at the request of his defense council because one of his chosen foreign defense lawyers was prevented from attending the hearing because he has not been registered with the Cambodian Bar Association. The attorney's application to join the CBA was held up after he submitted a brief last Tuesday seeking the disqualification of one of the tribunal's Cambodian judges. Peter Foster is the official spokesman for the United Nations side of the joint Cambodian-U.N. tribunal.

"I think this act of defense is a good sign for the court. It shows that international standards are being met and that Brother Number Two is being fully represented under the law," Foster said.

No date has been set for Noun Chea to reappear in court and he will continue to detained pending his appeal for release ahead of his trial, expected to begin this year. Noun Chea is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear in court so far and cases against at least five other prominent leaders are being prepared.

"Killing Fields" court adjourns bail hearing

Mon Feb 4, 2008

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal adjourned a bail hearing on Monday for "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea after his Dutch lawyer failed to show up.

Making his first court appearance since being charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, the white-haired and toothless 82-year-old Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot's right hand man, spoke only to ask that his request for bail be delayed.

"Why are we having the hearing today since I have only one Cambodian lawyer and it is not consistent with international standards?" he asked the courtroom packed with nearly 500 people and reporters.

"If the hearing goes ahead, I don't believe it will be fair to me," he said.

An estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died of torture, disease or starvation under Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror as his dream of creating an agrarian peasant utopia descended into the nightmare of the "Killing Fields".

Nuon Chea is accused of playing a central role in the atrocities and has been implicated directly in the mass slaughter of regime opponents by Duch, head of Phnom Penh's S-21, or Tuol Sleng, interrogation and torture centre.

Duch who is also accused of atrocities, is expected to be a key witness at the long-awaited $56 million tribunal.

The court did not set a new date to hear Nuon Chea's request that he be released on bail for lack of evidence. He is unlikely to be freed.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Ed Cropley)

Top Khmer Rouge figure in court

Monday, 4 February 2008
BBC News

The most senior surviving member of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime has appeared in court for the first time.

Nuon Chea, who was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, asked for a postponement to his appeal hearing because of a row over his legal team.

Noun Chea is one of five senior Khmer Rouge officials to be arrested and charged by a special genocide tribunal.

More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 and 1979.

Researchers say Nuon Chea was the ideological driving force behind the regime, responsible for its most radical policies.

Unabashed

Nuon Chea's appearance in court did not last long, but the survivors of the Khmer Rouge era have finally seen the man known as Brother Number Two in the dock.

With a full head of closely-cropped white hair, the octogenarian is a striking, if slightly stooped figure, according to the BBC's correspondent in Phnom Penh, Guy Delauney.

WHO WERE THE KHMER ROUGE?

• Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979
• Founded and led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998
• Abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopia
• Brutal regime that did not tolerate dissent
• More than a million people thought to have died from starvation, overwork or execution

He briefly addressed the judges to request an adjournment, because his foreign legal counsel had not been registered as required with the Cambodian Bar Association.

After more than an hour of private discussions, the judges decided they agreed with him, and are due to decide the next step on Wednesday.

Late last year, Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Kek Ieu, also known as Duch, was extremely deferential when he spoke in court, but Nuon Chea was direct and unabashed in his request, our correspondent says.

"If I have only a Cambodian lawyer, it is not consistent with international standards. I believe that if these proceedings go ahead, it is not fair to me," he told tribunal judges as he put forward his case.

The delay is yet another setback for the already sluggish tribunal process.

Khmer Rouge founder Pol Pot died in 1998 and many fear that delays to the judicial process could mean that more of the regime's elderly leaders are never brought to justice.

KRouge's leader's detention hearing postponed

Monday February 4, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunal was postponed Monday amid a row over his legal team, court judges said.

A key member of Nuon Chea's defense, Dutch attorney Victor Koppe, has yet to be admitted to Cambodia's Bar Association, a requirement for foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants.

Nuon Chea, the senior-most of the five Khmer Rouge cadre to be arrested so far, argued earlier in the day that going ahead without Koppe would violate international standards of justice.

"If I have only a Cambodian lawyer, it is not consistent with international standards. I believe that if these proceedings go ahead, it is not fair to me," the 81-year-old regime ideologue told tribunal judges.

Nuon Chea, who was Khmer Rouge supreme leader Pol Pot's closest deputy and the alleged architect of the regime's devastating execution policies during its 1975-1979 rule, was arrested in September and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"The pre-trial chamber decided to adjourn the hearing to a later date and ordered the lawyers of the charged person to submit a written report about the presence of the international lawyer," the judges said.

The conflict over Koppe arose last week when the Bar Association refused to admit him after he signed a court motion seeking the dismissal of one of the pre-trial chamber judges, Ney Thol.

In his motion, Koppe accused Ney Thol, who is president of Cambodia's military court, of being "neither independent nor impartial."

Bar officials said Koppe had signed the court documents before they swore him in, violating the rule that foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants must be accepted by them before conducting court business.

No new date has been set for Nuon Chea's appeal against his pre-trial detention, the judges said, raising concerns over further delays to the already sluggish court.

Had the hearing been held, it would have marked only the second public hearing since the UN-backed tribunal was convened 18 months ago.

"The delay does not satisfy us," said Cambodian villager Huy Chhum, one of the hundreds of spectators who gathered in the tribunal's main courtroom to watch the hearing.

"So many delays will make villagers lose faith in the court and then it is meaningless," said the 75-year-old whose wife, brother and son perished under the regime.

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.

Cities were emptied, their populations exiled onto vast collective farms, while schools were closed, religion banned and the educated classes targeted for extermination.

All of the former Khmer Rouge leaders currently in custody are elderly and ill, and there are fears they could die before being put in the dock.

Cambodia's genocide tribunal was convened in 2006 after nearly a decade of fractious talks between the government and United Nations.

But it has been badly hampered by delays, amid infighting among foreign and Cambodian judges as well as attempts by the Cambodian Bar Association to assert its authority over foreign defense lawyers.

Former Khmer Rouge Leader Appears Before UN Genocide Tribunal

A Cambodian police officer, rear left, tries photograph of a symbolizing justice statue at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)--Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea made his first appearance Monday before Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal, but the hearing was quickly adjourned after his defense lawyer asked for a delay.

Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge's former ideologist, has been detained since Sept. 19 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in the group's brutal 1975-79 rule, which caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.

His Cambodian lawyer asked the court to postpone the hearing so a foreign lawyer could join him in appealing for Nuon Chea to be released on bail, claiming the tribunal's investigating judges did not have sufficient grounds to detain him.

Prak Kimsan, head of the five-judge panel, gave the defense until Wednesday to explain how much time they needed.

"The panel has decided to adjourn the hearing," he told the court.

Nuon Chea, 81, is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders expected to go on trial this year.

In a detention order last year, the judges charged him with involvement in crimes including "murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts."

The tribunal says detention is necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses, destroying evidence and escaping. They say Nuon Chea's own safety could also be at risk if he is released.

Nuon Chea has denied any guilt, saying he is not a "cruel" man. He has also called himself "a patriot and not a coward" trying to run away.

Son Arun, Nuon Chea's lawyer, said Sunday his client is asking for bail because he "feels an absence of freedom in his detention, where all he does is eat and sleep."

"It is not like when he used to live with his family," Son Arun said.

Last week, Cambodia's bar association refused to swear in Son Arun's Dutch partner, Victor Koppe, because he had breached its rules by petitioning the tribunal before taking its oath.

Nuon Chea is the second detained former Khmer Rouge leader to appear before judges in a courtroom.

In December, the pretrial chamber judges ruled against a similar appeal for release by Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison.

Thousands of the movement's perceived enemies were tortured at the prison - now a genocide museum - before being executed at "killing fields" outside the capital, Phnom Penh.

Duch, who has been charged with crimes against humanity, implicated Nuon Chea in the atrocities.

Photos of Nuon Chea's appearance at court hearing

A vehicle transports former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea to a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was the first time since being arrested on charges of crimes against humanity that Nuon Chea has faced the tribunal. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Noun Chea, left, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, takes a seat during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, POOL)
Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's (C) first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunal was postponed Monday amid a row over his legal team, court judges said (AFP/Pool/Tang Chhin Sothy)
Noun Chea, left, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, sits during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, POOL)
Noun Chea, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, looks on during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, POOL)
Noun Chea, a former Khmer Rouge leader and right hand man to Pol Pot, waits during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo /Tang Chhin Sothy, Pool)
Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's right hand man of the Khmer Rouge regime, stands in the dock during his first public appearance at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 4, 2008. Nuon Chea stood before the U.N.-backed "Killing Fields" tribunal on Monday in the second public appearance by a senior Pol Pot cadre. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Judges and court officers with the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal attend during a hearing Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. A Cambodian court adjourned a hearing Monday over former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea's appeal against his detention by Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal tasked with seeking justice in the communist movement's atrocities in late 1970s. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, POOL)
Cambodian woman Sok Soul, 68, front, and others wait in line to attend a U.N.-back genocide tribunal Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea. Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's right hand man, was arrested for crimes against humanity in 2007 and has been in detention ever since. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Chum Mey, left, one of the few survivors who was imprisoned at Tuol Sleng prison by the Khmer Rouge looks on prior to a U.N.-back genocide tribunal Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for Nuon Chea. Nuon Chea, Pol Pot's right hand man in the Khmer Rouge, was to attend a hearing on his detention. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Cambodian police look on during a U.N.-back genocide tribunal hearing for former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Cambodian police and soldiers look on outside during a hearing at the U.N.-back genocide tribunal Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)

KRouge leader seeks delay in genocide tribunal hearing

Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea (C) sought Monday to delay his first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunal

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea sought Monday to delay his first public hearing before Cambodia's genocide tribunal, saying that he needed his foreign lawyer to appeal his detention by the court.

A key member of Nuon Chea's defense team, Dutch attorney Victor Koppe, has yet to be admitted to Cambodia's Bar Association, a requirement for foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants.

"If I have only a Cambodian lawyer, it is not consistent with international standards. I believe that if these proceedings go ahead, it is not fair to me," Nuon Chea told tribunal judges.

"I would like to request that the court adjourn the proceedings to a later date," he added, shortly before the judges went behind closed doors to discuss the request.

Nuon Chea, who was Khmer Rouge supreme leader Pol Pot's closest deputy and the alleged architect of the regime's devastating execution policies during its 1975-1979 rule, is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The court had been scheduled to hear his appeal of his pre-trial detention, which he argues is based on flimsy evidence. The 81-year-old was arrested in September.

But a conflict over his foreign lawyer, Koppe, arose last week when Cambodia's Bar Association refused to admit him.

Bar officials said Koppe signed had court documents before they swore him in, violating the rule that foreign lawyers wishing to represent tribunal defendants must be accepted by the Bar before conducting court business.

On Monday, Nuon Chea's Cambodian lawyer also asked that the hearing be postponed.

"I alone ... cannot accept this hearing because this is an international hearing," Sun Arun said.

Nuon Chea, dressed in a crisp short-sleeved shirt, appeared healthy, standing on his own to answer questions from the judges about his name, age and the names of other family members.

The appearance of the regime's ideologue, the senior-most of the five Khmer Rouge cadre to be arrested so far, marks only the second public hearing since the UN-backed tribunal was convened 18 months ago.

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.

Cities were emptied, their populations exiled onto vast collective farms, while schools were closed, religion banned and the educated classes targeted for extermination.

Khmer Rouge 'Brother No 2' in court

Nuon Chea, former deputy leader of the Khmer Rouge, is appealing against his detention [AFP]

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2008
Al Jazeera

The most senior surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge leader has appeared for the first time before a United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia.

Monday's court appearance by Nuon Chea, the so-called "Brother Number Two" of the Khmer Rouge, was to have heard an appeal against his detention and request for bail.

But a dispute over the 81-year-old's legal team and the accreditation of two Dutch defence lawyers meant the tribunal adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.

The former deputy to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot - who died in 1998 – Nuon Chea was arrested last September and faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders awaiting trial, expected to start later this year.

Nuon Chea is the second Khmer Rouge senior official to appeal his detention, following a similar move by Kang Kek Iew, also known as Duch, who headed the group's notorious Tuol Sleng prison and interrogation centre.

Duch's appeal was rejected by the court, which said he could attempt to flee the country or interfere with witnesses if he was freed.

Speaking before Monday's court appearance, Son Arun, Nuon Chea's lawyer, said his client "feels an absence of freedom in his detention, where all he does is eat and sleep".

However, the panel of Cambodian and international investigating judges has said it sees Nuon Chea's continued detention as necessary to prevent him from pressuring witnesses or destroying evidence, as well as for his own safety.

The former Khmer Rouge second-in-command is accused of playing a key role in the deaths of some 1.7 million people during the group's 1975-79 rule.

During that period, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling millions to rural areas in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia, outlawing schools, religion and currency.

The tribunal, convened in 2006, has charged Nuon Chea with "murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts".

The tribunal is expected to hear documentary evidence that Nuon Chea personally ordered the murder of 14,000 people held at the Tuol Sleng prison, a former Phnom Penh high school.

Nuon Chea surrendered to the Cambodian government in 1998 after the final remnants of the Khmer Rouge collapsed in 1998 and he was given a formal pardon.

In an apology of sorts after the surrender he told reporters: "Naturally, we are sorry, not only for the lives of the people, but also for the animals. They all died because we wanted to win the war."