"This is a scandal!" he told reporters during an impromptu press conference. "This never happens except in dictatorships!"

Verges is famous for his notorious client roster, including Nazi Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal. He and Samphan knew each other when the two were both students in Paris.

Meanwhile, Khieu Samphan's wife, So Socheat, was a much more reticent presence. Her hair pulled back in a conservative bun, she quietly answered reporters' questions outside the ECCC chambers, defending her husband's innocence.

"I think it's just politics," she said of the court. "It's just revenge."