The Phnom Penh Post

Duch's lawyers filed notice today that they will appeal the tribunal's verdict in Case 001, arguing that their client "does not fit into the category of persons under the jurisdiction of the ECCC". The appeal notice accuses the court of practicing "victors' justice" and failing "to demonstrate why it was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Prosecution evidence on which it relied proved that the Accused fell under its personal jurisdiction". 

This language echoes the arguments made during closing arguments in November by defence attorney Kar Savuth, who said Duch could not be considered a senior leader when S-21 was just one among dozens of similar prisons in Democratic Kampuchea.

"Duch has been detained for 10 years," Kar Savuth said at the time. "Other chiefs of prisons have not been detained, so I think it is an appropriate time that the chamber release my client and allow him to go home."

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Nick Kaufman, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, has been appointed as a consultant for Duch's defence team following last month's verdict. Kaufman says he's been impressed by Duch's expressions of remorse and is ready to move forward with the appeal process.

"I believe in the sincerity of his regret, after meeting him last week, and I feel that the legal errors in the sentence reassure me that representing him in the appeal is the right thing to do," Kaufman said.

Kaufman said there was substance to the defense's claim that Duch had been just a cog in the Khmer Rouge's killing machine, following the orders of his superiors.

A busy day today for prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, as they gave notice that they will appeal the judgment handed down against Duch last month and filed their final submission for Case 002. As the Co-Investigating Judges had indicated earlier this year, Duch will not be indicted in Case 002. 

Click here to read the notice of appeal, which argues that the Trial Chamber gave "insufficient weight to the gravity of Duch's crimes" and weighed mitigating circumstances too heavily. You can read more about both the appeal and the final submission in tomorrow's Post.

In public hearings at the Khmer Rouge tribunal on Friday, the pre-trial chamber judges upheld the extension of pre-trial detention for Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan for a third year after their arrest in November 2007. You can read more about it here, or check out the court's own website to read the full text of the judges' rulings on Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan.

Ieng Sary appears at the court in February to appeal his pre-trial detention (ECCC Pool).