Judges Sworn in for Khmer Rouge Trial

The judges for the long-awaited Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) have been sworn in at a special ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The judges are comprised of both Cambodians and foreigners appointed by the UN—the result of an intricate formula of majority voting by both Cambodian and international judicial officials. The formula was in response to widespread criticism of Cambodia’s severely debilitated judicial system in the aftermath of Pol Pot’s regime.

The swearing in of the judges is a significant step toward justice for Cambodia—while many feared that the trials would never become a reality, the swearing-in ceremony "erases the negative speculation people have had in the past that there won't be any trial", said Reach Sambath, a spokesman for the tribunal’s administration office.

The trials are expected to start in mid-2007. Two of the defendants will be former Khmer Rouge regime leaders Ta Mok and Kang Keng Ieu. Both men are presently in jail on genocide charges. However, Pol Pot's "Brother Number Two," Nuon Chea, former Head of State Khieu Samphan and former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary are still living freely in Cambodia. Pol Pot himself died in 1998.

Over 1.7 million people perished under the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. The regime engaged in summary executions, starvation, and forced labor and has been condemned as one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century.


Updated July 3, 2006

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