The Phnom Penh Post

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.

My apologies for playing catch-up on this post. I am just returning from a trip to the provinces and was not around to cover two stories of note:

No. 1: On October 7, the tribunal made public six summons letters, dated September 25 and bearing the signature of International Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde, requesting that six government officials - Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly President Heng Samrin, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Finance Minister Keat Chhon and two CPP senators – appear at the tribunal to provide testimony “in the framework of the investigation under way against Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and other leaders”.

The following day Prime Minister Hun Sen weighed in, saying the officials' testimony could prejudice the tribunal's second case. Speaking at Chaktomuk Theatre, he said: “These [officials] made the Pol Pot regime collapse, and they adopted the law on the Khmer Rouge tribunal, so if they go as witnesses, it would make the accused persons guilty. How is justice to be done? My main problem is that turning the plaintiffs into witnesses would doom the accused.”

Co-Investigating Judges at the tribunal denied a request Friday that they investigate allegations of corruption at the court. The request had been lodged by Nuon Chea's defense team, and was supported by two other defense teams.

The Co-Investigating Judges wrote that probing such allegations was outside their jurisdiction.

"Whilst reiterating their desire for an irreproachable Court, they noted that the primary condition for fair trials is that the judges themselves respect the Law, particularly the jurisdictional limits laid down by their founding documents," according to a release from the court. "Accordingly, they were obliged to note that they did not have jurisdiction, under the 27 October 2004 Law and Internal Rules, to conduct the action requested by the Defence."

In arguments both Thursday and Friday, lawyers debated the relevance of an altercation that took place between civil parties and Khieu Samphan's defense lawyers last December.

It was the first time hostilities at the court boiled over into public dissent -- and near violence. Angered by the provocative Jacques Verges, and his Cambodian co-lawyer Sa Sovan, Khmer Rouge victims began a shouting match. Sa, as civil party lawyer Silke Studzinksy pointed out Thursday, "did not have the necessary distance to calm the situation," and various parties had to be physically restrained.

To defense lawyers' dismay, attorneys for the civil parties have now argued that the clash proves defendants cannot be released on bail. Anger directed toward the Khmer Rouge is still too raw, they say.

For the second time this week, judges at the tribunal adjourned and rescheduled an appeal hearing. Khieu Samphan's appeal against extension of provisional detention, along with additional translation arguments, will be hashed out April 3.

Khieu requested the hearing be delayed because his infamous French lawyer, Jacques Verges, was unable to make it to court. The reason for his absence is somewhat unclear.

Thursday afternoon, the court notified journalists that Khieu's hearing would begin at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. because Verges' flight had been delayed. But as the hearing opened Friday morning, Verges had not yet arrived.

* Khieu Samphan's lawyers lost an appeal Friday requesting that their client's entire case file be translated into French. Judges ruled that the appeal was inadmissible. While the court's translation rules allow for a number of primary documents to be translated, they do not require the translation of every document in a case file. Khieu's foreign lawyer, Jacques Verges, has continually argued that he cannot properly defend his client until the entire case file is translated into French.

* The Cambodian side of the tribunal is running out of money. According to local press reports, the court's Cambodian side could be bankrupt within the next few weeks. However, tribunal spokespeople remain confident that funding will come through.

* While the court's Cambodian side struggles financially, the UN side just received a pledge of $1.5-million from the United States. The U.S. made its first-ever donation to the court in September.

The last week of February is shaping up to be a busy one at the ECCC. In addition to appeal hearings for Ieng Thirith and Ieng Sary, judges have now scheduled a public hearing for Khieu Samphan on Feb. 27.

Khieu, like the other defendants, is appealing the extension of his provisional detention. Judges denied a request from Co-Prosecutors that the appeal decision be based on written submissions alone.

I'm pleased that the Post took time to interview defense lawyer Sa Sovan, who was at the center of a verbal dispute that broke out last month after Khieu Samphan's hearing. Much has been written about Khieu's foreign co-lawyer, Jacques Verges, but it was Sa who stole the spotlight Dec. 4 when he entered into a heated exchange with Khmer Rouge victims at the court. A short video I recorded of the outburst is available on YouTube.

The scene left me -- and, I'm sure, others -- wanting more information about Sa's background. In his interview with the Post, Sa explains his reasons for defending Khieu, even though he lost dozens of family members during the Khmer Rouge period. It's worth reading.

* Pictured: Sa Sovan, at right, argues with Khmer Rouge survivors.

* Judges at the tribunal's Pre-Trial Chamber have decided that Khieu Samphan's request for release from provisional detention is inadmissible.

* Sources close to the court have said six more potential defendants have been identified at the tribunal. But some court observers worry government interference may prevent the additional prosecutions from moving forward.

* Tribunal officials have finally finished drafting detention rules at the ECCC. 聽聽

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I've been working with the Post's webmaster to try to post video clips from last Thursday's Khieu Samphan hearing on the blog. We've been having some trouble so, in the meantime, you can view a couple of the video clips on YouTube.

The first shows lawyer Jacques Verges addressing reporters after his client's hearing. The second records the heated argument that broke out between Khieu's defense team and Khmer Rouge survivors.

* Pictured: Civil parties read a prepared statement after Khieu's hearing.