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Cambodia genocide court begins substantive trial of ex-Khmer Rouge leader 'Duch'

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) began the substantive portion of the first trial of a former Khmer Rogue leader Monday when Kaing Guek Eav was brought before the court. Pretrial hearings against Kaing, also known as "Duch," began last month, but the substantive portion of the trial began when the proceedings resumed Monday. The schedule of events in the ECCC on Monday included a formal identification of Kaing, a recitation of his rights, and a reading of the charges against him, which include war crimes, premeditated murder, and torture. The trial will continue with opening statements on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and after that every Monday through Thursday until early July. Kaing's trial is the first of eight that the ECCC hopes to hear against former members of the Khmer Rouge, which has been accused of murdering 1.7 million Cambodians during their nearly four year reign. The ECCC has long been plagued with accusations of corruption and inadequate funding, with greater problems in recent years. Earlier this month, the ECCC reported that it would be unable to pay its Cambodian employees for that month, one year after the court had requested $114 million dollars from the UN. In February, Human Rights Watch warned that the ECCC trials were in danger of being tainted for their failure to follow fair trial standards, and in January a Cambodian court agreed to hear a corruption case involving two ECCC judges.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 30, 2009 (boomark / email).