ECCC urged to quiz new suspects

9 May 2011
AFP

The international co-prosecutor at Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on Monday called for the unnamed suspects in a politically sensitive new Khmer Rouge case to face questioning.

In a written statement, Andrew Cayley urged the co-investigating judges to examine more crime sites and "summon and question the suspects", adding that he felt their alleged crimes "have not been fully investigated".

In its landmark first trial, the court sentenced former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav to 30 years in jail in July for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people during the brutal 1975-1979 regime.

That case is now under appeal, while a second trial involving four of the regime's most senior surviving leaders is due to start in the middle of the year.

But the court has been tight-lipped about progress into potential third and fourth cases against another five members of the regime, whose identities remain confidential and details sketchy.

I object!

Observers say both cases are likely to be dismissed as they face strong opposition from the Cambodian government, with Prime Minister Hun Sen even saying last year these cases were "not allowed".

Late last month the court announced in a terse press release that it had concluded its initial investigations into the third case, without providing details of the crimes nor summoning the suspects, to the dismay of victims and observers.

Cayley's national counterpart Chea Leang has opposed going after more suspects from the beginning and her name was notably absent from Monday's statement.

Cayley refused to comment on the apparent rift between them but said that he had "a legal obligation" to demand further investigations.

"I am using every single legal instrument at my disposal... to ensure justice is done in this case," the Briton said.

"My view is that the victims, the witnesses and the potential suspects are entitled to know what is taking place in the courtroom."

Information first

In his list of new crime sites, Cayley disclosed numerous Khmer Rouge security centres across the country, including one in the capital Phnom Penh, as well as a forced labour site in southern Kampong Som province.

By giving victims some basic information, Cayley had "done the right thing, and this may be crucial for the credibility of the court", said Clair Duffy, from the rights group Open Society Justice Initiative.

The co-investigating judges are expected to announce next month whether they will take up Cayley's requests.

The third case is widely believed to centre around a former Khmer Rouge navy commander and an air force commander, while the fourth case is thought to involve three lower-level regime members.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Marxist Khmer Rouge regime emptied cities in the late 1970s in a bid to create an agrarian utopia, killing up to two million through starvation, overwork and genocide.