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Khmer Rouge leader to appear in court

Nuon Chea

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia): The former Khmer Rouge leader, Nuon Chea, will appeal against his detention on war crimes charges when he makes his first appearance before Cambodia’s U.N.-backed genocide tribunal on Monday, his lawyer said.

Nuon Chea, a Khmer Rouge ideologist and a top leader of the murderous movement, is scheduled to appear before the tribunal’s pre-trial chamber.

The tribunal has detained Nuon Chea since last year on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the Khmer Rouge atrocities that led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people when the communist movement held power in Cambodia in 1975-79.

The 81-year-old is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders pending trial, which is expected to start later this year.

Son Arun, Nuon Chea’s lawyer, said his client would appeal his detention and ask that he be released on bail because he “feels an absence of freedom in his detention, where all he does is eat and sleep.” — AP

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