The Phnom Penh Post

Co-Prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal announced today that they are appealing the closing order in the case of "Comrade Duch" because the document limits the "modes of (Duch's) criminal liability."

The closing order, which was completed Aug. 8, indicts Duch for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. However, it fails to charge Duch under the Cambodian Penal Code of 1956 or to "charge Duch ... for a significant number of crimes that occurred as part of a joint criminal enterprise inside S21," according to the Co-Prosecutors' statement.

"In making their decision, the Co-Prosecutors have taken into account the expectation of the Cambodian people and the international community to bring to trial, as early as possible, those who are believed to have committed some of the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law in the history of the twentieth century," the statement reads.

The Co-Prosecutors must file their full appeal brief before Sept. 10. The defense will then have 15 days to respond, said court spokeswoman Helen Jarvis. The Pre-Trial Chamber will make the final decision involving the scope of Duch's criminal liability.

While the closing order currently contains charges that could lead to Duch's conviction, it is the court's mandate "to ensure the recording of a full and truthful account of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and the individual criminality of those responsible for them," according to the Co-Prosecutors.

Jarvis said she did not believe the appeal "would significantly impact" the start of Duch's much-anticipated trial.