Khmer Rouge judges rebuke premier for ‘killer’ remarks

PHNOM PENH Judges at a UN-backed Khmer Rouge war crimes court have rebuked Cambodia’s premier for branding one of the defendants a “killer”, in what observers said on Friday was their strongest warning yet against political interference.

But tribunal judges stopped short of taking action against Hun Sen, disappointing the defence team for “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea who said their client’s right to a fair trial had been violated. Hun Sen was quoted by Vietnamese media in January as saying that the testimony of Nuon Chea, accused of atrocities in the late 1970s, was “deceitful” and that the accused was a “killer and genocide (perpetrator)”.

“These remarks, if accurately reported, would constitute statements incompatible with the presumption of innocence,” the judges said in a decision published on the court’s website on Thursday.

“They risk being interpreted as an attempt to improperly influence the judges,” they wrote, issuing “an unambiguous public reminder” for officials to avoid making such statements.

Nuon Chea and two other top ex-regime leaders deny charges including war crimes and genocide for their roles in a regime blamed for the deaths of up to two million people.

The court has been dogged by claims of government interference and Nuon Chea’s counsel has repeatedly complained about the prime minister’s alleged meddling, though they welcomed this “implicit warning” from the judges.

Agence France-Presse