Khmer Rouge trial reaches final verdict
Prosecutors in the ongoing trial against two surviving top leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have begun summing up their case as the case is nearing its end.
The accused are Khieu Samphan, the regime’s ow 85-year-old former head of state, and 90-year-old Nuon Chea, right-hand man to the group’s late chief, Pol Pot, both being tried on charges including genocide, rape and murder.
Cambodian civil party lawyers on June 14 presented a highlight reel of horrors, reading aloud quotations and screening clips of some of the most relevant civil party testimony. They declared that despite the defendants’ denials, the evidence clearly showed they knew of the suffering and deaths of their countrymen.
The Khmer Rouge’s brutal policies during the regime’s 1975-79 reign are blamed for the deaths of as many as 1.7 million Cambodians from execution, starvation and inadequate medical care. Disobeying the regime was frequently met with death, torture or disappearance, contemporary witnesses stated.
The accused repeatedly claimed they did not know of the suffering. Nuon Chea’s defense team has frequently questioned the authority of civil party testimony, both because the parties were not required to swear an oath prior to testifying, and also because they would often contradict their own testimony.
The accused men are due to address the judges on June 22, the last day of the closing statements. A verdict is expected later this year. Both have already been convicted of crimes against humanity in an earlier trial.
[caption id="attachment_30032" align="alignleft" width="300"] Khieu Samphan (85, left) and Nuon Chea (90)[/caption] Prosecutors in the ongoing trial against two surviving top leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have begun summing up their case as the case is nearing its end. The accused are Khieu Samphan, the regime's ow 85-year-old former head of state, and 90-year-old Nuon Chea, right-hand man to the group's late chief, Pol Pot, both being tried on charges including genocide, rape and murder. Cambodian civil party lawyers on June 14 presented a highlight reel of horrors, reading aloud quotations and screening clips of some...
Prosecutors in the ongoing trial against two surviving top leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have begun summing up their case as the case is nearing its end.
The accused are Khieu Samphan, the regime’s ow 85-year-old former head of state, and 90-year-old Nuon Chea, right-hand man to the group’s late chief, Pol Pot, both being tried on charges including genocide, rape and murder.
Cambodian civil party lawyers on June 14 presented a highlight reel of horrors, reading aloud quotations and screening clips of some of the most relevant civil party testimony. They declared that despite the defendants’ denials, the evidence clearly showed they knew of the suffering and deaths of their countrymen.
The Khmer Rouge’s brutal policies during the regime’s 1975-79 reign are blamed for the deaths of as many as 1.7 million Cambodians from execution, starvation and inadequate medical care. Disobeying the regime was frequently met with death, torture or disappearance, contemporary witnesses stated.
The accused repeatedly claimed they did not know of the suffering. Nuon Chea’s defense team has frequently questioned the authority of civil party testimony, both because the parties were not required to swear an oath prior to testifying, and also because they would often contradict their own testimony.
The accused men are due to address the judges on June 22, the last day of the closing statements. A verdict is expected later this year. Both have already been convicted of crimes against humanity in an earlier trial.
