The Clown (Sacrava, 10 Nov. 2011)
Cambodia tribunal charges former Khmer Rouge cadre with genocide
BANGKOK (Reuters) - An international judge at a tribunal
in Cambodia on Friday charged a former Khmer Rouge cadre with genocide
and crimes against humanity, despite government resistance to
investigations into the brutal, ultra-Maoist former regime.
The official, Yim Tith, also faces counts of murder and
violating the Geneva Convention for his alleged role in Pol Pot's
government, which killed a fifth of Cambodia's population from 1975 to
1979, according to a statement by the tribunal.
Investigating judge Michael Bohlander filed the charges, tribunal
spokesman Neth Pheaktra said. But the judge's Cambodian counterpart, You
Bunleng, did not back the charges.
Yim Tith attended
Wednesday's session and left the courtroom shortly after, a tribunal
official said. Reuters was not able to reach him, or his lawyers, for
comment, however.
The charges come amid Cambodian
government opposition to the decade-old United Nations-Cambodian court,
which has so far delivered guilty verdicts in cases involving three
high-profile Khmer Rouge leaders. But new cases have faced resistance.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier, has
warned more trials could plunge the country back into civil war and has
promised to thwart new indictments.
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