Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Rights group urges Cambodia tribunal to end perception of government interference

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

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on the pre-trial chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to determine the scope of its prosecutions "to thwart growing perceptions that court decisions are directed by the government." HRW's urging comes in response to a statement made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week that the ECCC, a UN-backed tribunal assembled to try former Khmer Rouge leaders, should not prosecute any suspects beyond the five currently in custody. The ECCC has been plagued by accusations of corruption, and HRW has long stated that verdicts could be tainted due to failure to follow fair trial standards. The ECCC is currently trying its first case against former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Duch." In June, the court found that Kaing had been unlawfully held by a Cambodian military court for the past 10 years, but denied a defense request for his release. In late April, Kaing admitted to training prison staff to use torture to obtain confessions from prisoners, after he accepted responsibility for the deaths of 12,000 Cambodians in the S-21 prison camp.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 23, 2009 (boomark / email).