Thursday, 20 March 2008
A UN-backed tribunal has rejected an appeal for bail from the Khmer
Rouge's most senior surviving member.
Judges ruled that Nuon Chea, deputy to the group's leader Pol Pot,
must remain in custody ahead of his trial.
The octogenarian faces charges of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, relating to the Khmer Rouge's four-year rule in the 1970s.
More than one million Cambodians are believed to have died under the
brutal Maoist regime.
Nuon Chea, who is thought to have been the ideological driving force
behind the regime, denies committing any crime.
He had argued that he was not a flight risk and said he would not try
to influence potential witnesses.
But the court in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, ruled that his
detention should continue pending his trial, which is expected to take
place later this year.
Nuon Chea is one of five former Khmer Rouge leaders currently being
held by the court.
Bail has already been denied to Duch, the former head of the notorious
Tuol Sleng prison where thousands of people were executed.
Also in custody are Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister, his wife
Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs, and Khieu Samphan,
the former head of state.
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