CAMBODIA: Cambodia tribunal to hand down verdict on bail appeal by Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch

Cambodia waits for the U.N.-backed "Killings Fields" tribunal's verdict on an bail appeal by Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch. Cambodia's "Killing Fields" tribunal was set to hand down a verdict on a bail appeal by chief Khmer Rouge interrogator, Duch, on Monday (December 3). Duch, also known as Kaing Guek Eav, stood before the U.N.-backed "Killing Fields" tribunal November 20, and it was the first public appearance by a senior Pol Pot cadre at the court investigating Cambodia's genocide. He was appealing against his detention last July when he was charged with crimes against humanity by the joint court set up to prosecute "those most responsible" for the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge reign of terror, one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century. His appearance at the specially built court on the outskirts of Phnom Penh was a significant step for the tribunal, officials said, after a decade of delays caused by wrangling over jurisdiction and cash. A born-again Christian, Duch has confessed in interviews with Western reporters that he committed multiple atrocities as head of the infamous Tuol Sleng, or S-21, interrogation centre. At least 14,000 people deemed to be opponents of Pol Pot's "Year Zero" revolution passed through Tuol Sleng's barbed-wire gates. Fewer than 10 are thought to have lived to tell the tale. Most victims were tortured and forced to confess to a variety of crimes -- mainly being CIA spies -- before being bludgeoned to death in a field on the outskirts of the city. Women, children and even babies were among those butchered. The bail hearing serves as a dry run for the $56 million U.S. dollar court which is due to begin full trials next year, although prosecutors say they need more time and cash. "If the court releases him, maybe the people will not agree or will be disappointed because he killed and tortured a lot of people during the time of the Democratic Kampuchea," said Ith Sithuon from Battambang Province, who was visiting the Tuol Sleng prison museum. Four other top Khmer Rouge officials, including ex-president Khieu Samphan, 78, was accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes. "If they are the Khmer Rouge leaders, they should be in jail because there are many people who died because of them," said Um Saveun, a farmer. Former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife -- both life-long friends of "Brother Number One" Pol Pot who died in 1998 -- and "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, face similar charges. The four others have denied knowledge of any atrocities as Pol Pot pursued his dream of creating an agrarian peasant utopia. ENDS.

ITN Source | December 3, 2007

Tags:. .western. .terror. .maybe. .similar. .jail