Duch To Be Tried in Early 2009: Tribunal Judge
By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original re****t from Phnom Penh
05 May 2008
Jailed Khmer Rouge prison director Kaing Khek Iev, known to many by
his nom de guerre, Duch, will be the first regime cadre to be tried,
some time early next year, a tribunal judge said Monday.
You Bunleng, an investigating judge for the tribunal, said the
investigation of Duch=92s case will be finished this month, after which
responses from lawyers will be considered before the case is submitted
for trial.
If all goes smoothly, the first case against Duch can be submitted by
July or August, meaning a trial could start by the end of 2008 or
beginning of 2009, he said.
Duch was arrested in 1999 and held by the military courts until his
transfer to tribunal detention last year.
He faces charges of crimes against humanity for his role as director
of S-21, or Tuol Sleng, a prison where as many as 16,000 Cambodians
were tortured and later executed in =93killing fields=94 on the outskirts
of Phnom Penh. Less than 10 survived.
=93The case related to Tuol Sleng=92s history is easier than others, and
there is clear evidence,=94 said Sok Samoeun, director of the Cambodian
Defenders Project. You Bunleng said Monday elements of Duch=92s trial
will be used in subsequent trials.
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