The longstanding conflict between the Cambodian and international sides of the tribunal reflects the awkward political compromise that gave birth to the hybrid court. The brewing disagreement over additional prosecutions is likely to bring such issues to a head and court observers say the fate of the two cases will be a test of the tribunal's credibility. "The point is that the issue affects more than just Case 003 and Case 004 - it affects the whole of the court," Duffy said. "Judicial independence is a fundamental tenet of any justice system. The implications of a lack of judicial independence or of political decision making by judges are huge."
By Sebastian Strangio
Asia Time Online
PHNOM PENH - Sometime later this year, Cambodia's war crimes court will convene its second trial at which four ailing Khmer Rouge leaders will face a raft of charges including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The four accused - Khmer Rouge "Brother No 2" Nuon Chea, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, head of state Khieu Samphan and minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith - are the most senior surviving leaders of the regime, whose ultra-Maoist revolution led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975-79.
The tribunal's first case, against Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, came to an historic conclusion in July when judges convicted him for his role in the deaths of as many as 15,000 people at Phnom Penh's notorious S-21 prison. The 30-year jail sentence
Asia Time Online
PHNOM PENH - Sometime later this year, Cambodia's war crimes court will convene its second trial at which four ailing Khmer Rouge leaders will face a raft of charges including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The four accused - Khmer Rouge "Brother No 2" Nuon Chea, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, head of state Khieu Samphan and minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith - are the most senior surviving leaders of the regime, whose ultra-Maoist revolution led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975-79.
The tribunal's first case, against Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, came to an historic conclusion in July when judges convicted him for his role in the deaths of as many as 15,000 people at Phnom Penh's notorious S-21 prison. The 30-year jail sentence
handed down against the wiry former schoolteacher, better known by his revolutionary nom de guerre Duch, is currently under appeal.
As the United Nations-backed tribunal gears up for its much more complicated second case, controversy surrounds the potential indictments of five further mid-ranking Khmer Rouge figures. The names of the suspects in Case 003 and Case 004, as the court refers to them, have not yet been officially disclosed but human-rights activists have named the pair under investigation as Meas Muth, former commander of the Khmer Rouge navy, and ex-air force head Sou Met.
The latter case also allegedly involves Im Chem, a former district chief in Banteay Meanchey province, and a pair of deputy zone secretaries, Yim Tith (alias Ta Tith) and Aom An (alias Ta An).
