UN tribunal begins trial on Cambodian leaders of Khmer Rouge regime

UN tribunal begins trial on Cambodian leaders of Khmer Rouge regime

2011-06-28 06:00:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- A United Nations-backed tribunal on Monday began the trial on the four most senior surviving leaders of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

A five-judge panel at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) began hearing preliminary arguments from the lawyers of the four defendants who were arrested in 2007 and indicted in 2010.

Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea are all facing charges of genocide, murder, torture, religious persecution and other war crimes and crimes against humanity over their alleged actions when the Khmer Rouge was in power between April 1975 and January 1979.

All four defendants denied all accusations against them. Ieng Sary, 84, served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister under the Khmer Rouge. His wife, Thirith, served as social affairs minister.

Nuon, 84, known as "Brother Number Two", acted as chief policy architect of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, controlled Cambodia's internal security agency and rendered support for the regime's policies of forcible relocation, enslavement and other inhumane acts.

Khieu, 79, was a professor before serving as head of State of Democratic Kampuchea. He took over from Pol Pot when he retired as the official head of the Khmer Rouge in 1987.

The ECCC was set up in 2006 to deal with the worst offences committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. It is estimated that at least 1.7 million Cambodians died during the group's terror reign.

The victims died from starvation, forced labor, torture and execution until a civil war erupted, ending the regime in 1979. The courtroom in Phnom Penh was packed with citizens who came from across the country to witness the trial.

The hearing of arguments will continue until Thursday. The ECCC trial chamber is expected to discuss witnesses for the first phases of the substantive hearing which is expected to begin later this year.

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