International

defence lawyers for detained Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea have written

to Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, to request

the UN's cooperation in investigating corruption at the Khmer Rouge

tribunal. Delivered via top legal officer Peter Taksoe-Jensen, who met

with the government over the issue Monday, the letter urges the

government to waive an immunity clause in order to confidentially

disclose a report regarding the allegations of kickbacks at the court.

"Any individual who has demanded and/or provided money in exchange for

employment ... does not possess the requisite integrity to ensure the

fairness of the Khmer Rouge trials. "We submit, therefore, that a

failure to waive the UN's privileges and immunities at this juncture

‘would impede the course of justice'," the letter states. The lawyers

filed an appeal to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after the court

dismissed their request for a domestic investigation into the

allegations.