The Phnom Penh Post

International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley gave an interesting presentation at Rutgers on Wednesday, but unfortunately, he did not want to comment on the record about allegations of political interference at the tribunal (particularly in relation to Cases 003 and 004). It would be safe to say, however, in the comments he did make, Cayley expressed "very grave concerns" about the conduct of Cases 003 and 004, as reported in today's Post.

Moreover, Cayley referenced the recent decisions by the Pre-Trial Chamber related to his appeal against a retraction order related to Case 003. Although the chamber found against his appeal, the vote regarding the civil party application of New Zealander Rob Hamill was split along national/international lines, with international judges writing a substantial dissenting opinion questioning the integrity of the Co-Investigating Judges' conduct in Case 003. Read more about it here.

In a public statement released Thursday, Cayley quoted extensively from this dissenting opinion, listing the following findings of the international judges:

First of all, this blog has been down for the past few months and posts from earlier this year have been deleted due to some combination of the PPPost site being hacked and our transition to new software. We apologize for these difficulties, which we hope will not be repeated.

In tribunal news today, the court has announced the date of the initial hearing second case – featuring Khmer Rouge Brother No 2 Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and social action minister Ieng Thirith – will open on June 27. At this hearing, according to a document posted on the court’s website today, the parties will submit proposed witness lists and raise preliminary objections, and the lead civil party lawyers will offer initial specifications of the reparations awards they will be seeking in the case.

 So-called “substantive hearings”, featuring witness testimony and oral argument, are likely to begin in August.

The Pre-Trial Chamber at the Khmer Rouge tribunal (ECCC).

For those who are in Phnom Penh, award-winning documentary Enemies of the People will be showing at Meta House's new location on Sothearos Blvd this week. Screenings are scheduled for 6:30 and 8:30 PM on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with filmmakers Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath in attendance to take questions. Click here for a story the Post ran on the film earlier this month, including details on efforts by the Khmer Rouge tribunal to add it as evidence in the file for Case 002.

The tribunal announced this week that genocide charges had for the first time been brought against three regime leaders: Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan.

The charges stem from the regime's treatment of Vietnamese and the Cham Muslim minority group.

Brother No 2 Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister, were informed of the charges during a meeting with investigating judges on Wednesday. Former head of state Khieu Samphan was informed Friday. A meeting with Ieng Thirith, former minister of social action, is scheduled for early next week.

The tribunal's security section has completed an investigation into the recent "Waterlilygate" controversy at the court, spokesman Lars Olsen told reporters Wednesday. He said no evidence of "foul play or theft" had been discovered.

Last week, defense lawyers for Nuon Chea said they believed there had been a security breach at the court after a confidential document from their office was found floating in a lily pond outside the ECCC.

Olsen said the security section is drafting a report about the recent investigation and will be strengthening security protocols.

In a mini-scandal the Post has dubbed "Waterlilygate," defense attorneys for Nuon Chea are claiming they found a confidential document from their office floating in a lily pond outside the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Lawyer Michiel Pestman told reporters Thursday that he believed the document had been stolen from the defense team's office. I was not able to attend the press conference where these allegations were made, but you can read the Post article here.

"We have no explanation," he said. "What we do know is that the documents should have been shredded. They were not, and they were most probably stolen from our office."

Since the recent announcement that Helen Jarvis would become head of the ECCC Victims Unit, the former court spokeswoman has come under increased scrutiny.

In today's Cambodia Daily, lawyers for defendant Nuon Chea said Jarvis' political beliefs were cause for concern, and cited an open letter she had signed in 2006 penned by the Leninist Party Faction.

The letter, which was signed by over 50 people, reads, "We too are Marxists and believe that 'the ends justify the means.' In time of revolution and civil war, the most extreme measures will sometimes become necessary and justified. Against the bourgeoisie and their state agencies we don't respect their laws and their fake moral principles."

The ECCC's fifth plenary session opened Monday, with Judge Silvia Cartwright declaring that international judges "will not allow corruption to interfere with the tribunal's delivery of justice for the people of Cambodia."

Current funding shortfalls on the court's Cambodian side will be resolved once international donors are convinced the tribunal is "a corruption-free environment," she continued.

Before Cartwright made her opening remarks, Kong Srim, president of the supreme court chamber, told those gathered that the court did not have enough money to pay Cambodian staffers' salaries for March. Funding to the court's Cambodian side has stalled amid allegations of kickbacks at the tribunal.

Japan has pledged an additional $21-million to the troubled Khmer Rouge Tribunal, ensuring funding through early 2010. In a recent meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Japan's foreign minister, the issue of corruption at the court was not discussed, according to an article in today's Post.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Nuon Chea, who filed a complaint last week in municipal court related to ECCC corruption, accused judges at the tribunal of using intimidation tactics. The judges claimed Nuon's lawyers had smeared the court and wrote that they "reserve the right to legal recourse against any individuals who have provoked such a problem."