Khmer Rouge pair face charges of genocide, rape
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THE genocide trial of two former Khmer Rouge leaders resumed yesterday at a UN-backed court in Cambodia, where they face charges over the mass murder of Vietnamese people and ethnic Muslims, forced marriage and rape.
Nuon Chea, 88, known as “Brother Number Two,” and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 83, have already been given life sentences after a separate trial in August for crimes against humanity.
That ruling saw them become the first top figures to be jailed from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to 2 million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979.
The second trial, that opened in July, got under way yesterday with judge Nil Nonn reading out genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes charges.
Nuon Chea, and Khieu Samphan sat in court alongside their defence teams as around 300 survivors of the regime protested outside, demanding monetary compensation for their suffering.
The complex case against the two Khmer Rouge leaders was split into a smaller trials in 2011 to get a faster verdict given the vast number of accusations and their advanced age.
Both men have appealed their August convictions, which followed a two-year trial focused on the forced evacuation of around 2 million Cambodians from Phnom Penh into rural labour camps and murders at one execution site.
The second trial, broader in scope than the first, is viewed as an opportunity for many other victims to seek redress.
“The accused will now face trial for the biggest crimes for which they have been indicted,” said prosecutor Chea Leang in an opening statement. “This court cannot be closed until justice is done for the victims of these crimes.”
Khieu Samphan told the court he would make a brief statement, while Nuon Chea said he would not answer any questions.
The testimony by the prosecution’s first witness, scheduled for Monday, has been postponed until October 27.
The mass killings of an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 ethnic Cham Muslims and 20,000 Vietnamese form the basis of the genocide charges. Previously, the treatment of the Muslim group and Vietnamese community was rarely discussed.
“Their goal was to exterminate our race,” said Seth Maly, a 64-year-old Cham labour camp survivor who lost 100 relatives under the Khmer Rouge ruling.
Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan also face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the second trial — for the deaths of up to 2 million people through starvation, overwork or execution.
Most of these deaths do not fall under the genocide charge.
A court spokesman said yesterday that the trial may go on until 2016.
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