Cambodian tribunal charges another Khmer Rouge suspect

 28/03/2015

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal charged another suspect with crimes against humanity on Friday, defying for the second time this month a warning from Prime Minister Hun Sen that adding more defendants could cause unrest.

The tribunal announced that an investigating judge filed charges against Aom An, a former Khmer Rouge district commander in central Cambodia. Earlier this month, the judge charged another district commander and the former Khmer Rouge navy chief with homicide and crimes against humanity.

The charges must be accepted by the court's senior judges before the three can face trial.

Some 1.7 million people are estimated to have died from starvation, disease and execution due to the extremist policies of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979. Khieu Samphan, the regime's head of state, and Nuon Chea, right-hand man to the communist group's late leader, Pol Pot, received life sentences last August after being found guilty of crimes against humanity. Their trial on additional charges is ongoing.

The tribunal said in a statement that Aom An, whose name it transliterated as Ao An, was being charged with murder under Cambodian law and with crimes against humanity, including "murder, extermination, persecution on political and religious grounds, imprisonment, and other inhumane acts" committed in two prisons and at an execution site.

Hun Sen has repeatedly said that if the tribunal targets more defendants, it could incite former Khmer Rouge members to start a civil war. Aside from his political allies, few people share his belief, since the Khmer Rouge became a spent force almost two decades ago.

Hun Sen himself was a mid-level commander with the Khmer Rouge before defecting while the group was still in power, and several senior members of his Cambodian People's Party share similar backgrounds. He helped cement his political control by making alliances with other former Khmer Rouge commanders.

The recent charges were brought by the co-investigating judge representing the international community in the tribunal, which follows the same French-style legal procedures as Cambodian law. The tribunal operates under a unique system pairing international and Cambodian judges and lawyers. Critics say the Cambodian jurists are susceptible to political pressure, but the tribunal is structured to make it difficult for either partner to exercise a veto over proceedings.