Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders (Tribunal Updates)

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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Lawyer for Khmer Rouge’s Nuon Chea was practising illegally, says Cambodian bar association, casting mistrial risk over historic verdict
Victor Koppe is dismissed by a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia after the bar association reports he was unregistered as a lawyer in the Netherlands in 2016
The revelation throws doubt over the nine-year process to bring justice to Nuon Chea – Pol Pot’s ‘Brother No 2’ – and fellow defendant Khieu Samphan


PUBLISHED : Saturday, 15 December, 2018, 12:57am
The defence lawyer for Nuon Chea, Pol Pot’s infamous “Brother No 2” in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime, may have been working without proper legal authority for years, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the United Nations-backed tribunal that has dragged on for nine years.

The disclosure, found in a document issued by the Cambodian Bar Association (BAKC) on December 11 and seen by the South China Morning Post, cast in doubt the proceedings of the highly publicised international tribunal that led to the guilty verdict rendered last month, and raises the possibility of a mistrial or an appeal.

Victor Koppe was dismissed by the tribunal after it came to light that he was not registered as a lawyer in Cambodia when he represented Chea in court last month.

The document shows that Koppe had been taken off the BAKC list in August this year.

“The fact that Mr Victor Koppe continued to dress as a professional lawyer, use the legal profession and participate in the court proceedings after his name had been removed from the BAKC is in breach of the law on the bar,” reads the document sent to the Defence Support Section (DSS) of the tribunal, and signed by BAKC Deputy Secretary General Koy Neam.

The BAKC document was stamped by the tribunal as having been received on Thursday, December 13.

Following the issuance of the BAKC document, the defence section terminated Koppe’s contract, said Neth Pheaktra, a tribunal spokesman. He told the Post that Koppe had cancelled his registration with the Amsterdam Bar Association on January 1, 2016.

The Amsterdam Bar Association confirmed that Koppe had only been registered until December 31, 2015, but could not provide further information.

It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against Koppe for practising as a lawyer in Cambodia for nearly three years even though he did not have a right to do so, as he was not registered as one in his home country.

Pheaktra declined to comment, saying: “Let the court decide on this.”
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeas ... gally-says
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

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CEOCambodiaNews wrote: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:01 am Lawyer for Khmer Rouge’s Nuon Chea was practising illegally, says Cambodian bar association, casting mistrial risk over historic verdict
Victor Koppe is dismissed by a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia after the bar association reports he was unregistered as a lawyer in the Netherlands in 2016
The revelation throws doubt over the nine-year process to bring justice to Nuon Chea – Pol Pot’s ‘Brother No 2’ – and fellow defendant Khieu Samphan


PUBLISHED : Saturday, 15 December, 2018, 12:57am
The defence lawyer for Nuon Chea, Pol Pot’s infamous “Brother No 2” in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime, may have been working without proper legal authority for years, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the United Nations-backed tribunal that has dragged on for nine years.

The disclosure, found in a document issued by the Cambodian Bar Association (BAKC) on December 11 and seen by the South China Morning Post, cast in doubt the proceedings of the highly publicised international tribunal that led to the guilty verdict rendered last month, and raises the possibility of a mistrial or an appeal.

Victor Koppe was dismissed by the tribunal after it came to light that he was not registered as a lawyer in Cambodia when he represented Chea in court last month.

The document shows that Koppe had been taken off the BAKC list in August this year.

“The fact that Mr Victor Koppe continued to dress as a professional lawyer, use the legal profession and participate in the court proceedings after his name had been removed from the BAKC is in breach of the law on the bar,” reads the document sent to the Defence Support Section (DSS) of the tribunal, and signed by BAKC Deputy Secretary General Koy Neam.

The BAKC document was stamped by the tribunal as having been received on Thursday, December 13.

Following the issuance of the BAKC document, the defence section terminated Koppe’s contract, said Neth Pheaktra, a tribunal spokesman. He told the Post that Koppe had cancelled his registration with the Amsterdam Bar Association on January 1, 2016.

The Amsterdam Bar Association confirmed that Koppe had only been registered until December 31, 2015, but could not provide further information.

It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against Koppe for practising as a lawyer in Cambodia for nearly three years even though he did not have a right to do so, as he was not registered as one in his home country.

Pheaktra declined to comment, saying: “Let the court decide on this.”
https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeas ... gally-says
:facepalm:
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by Duncan »

Should have a retrial. $$$$$$$$$$$$
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

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Khmer Rouge tribunal: ‘astonishing failure’ or ‘justice for millions’?
By: Charles Dunst - Posted on: December 14, 2018 | Cambodia
The ECCC landed its first genocide conviction of high-level officers in the Pol Pot regime, but only after nearly 20 years and $300m in costs. A looming judicial stalemate on the fate of two more cases could lead to the ECCC’s termination – which might be welcomed by a nation grown weary of dwelling on its dark past

On 16 November, the Khmer Rouge tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), pronounced senior regime leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea guilty of genocide. In the wake of this landmark ruling – the tribunal’s first genocide conviction of former Khmer Rouge officers 40 years after the fall of the regime – commentators and diplomats are growing increasingly confident that the ECCC’s operations will soon terminate, despite the fact that additional cases remain on its docket.

This pessimism is largely a reaction to years of Cambodian political opposition to the ECCC’s pursuit of cases beyond those completed in mid-November. Prime Minister HE – himself a former Khmer Rouge commander who defected from the group in 1977 to join the Vietnamese-led push to overthrow Pol Pot’s regime – objects to the ECCC’s prosecuting of these additional cases, which are aimed at lower-level Khmer Rouge cadres. HE has claimed that doing so would ignite “a civil war” that would kill “200,000 to 300,000 people.” Minister of the Interior Sar Kheng, in a November speech to a crowd that included some former Khmer Rouge soldiers, proclaimed, “There will be no more investigations taking place, so you don’t have to worry” and that “the process has ended”.

Asked how the ECCC will proceed amidst this government pressure, tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra responded opaquely: “No comment”.

On 28 November, the ECCC’s co-investigating judges announced that they were split on one of these remaining cases, that against Meas Muth, who is alleged to have been the Khmer Rouge’s naval commander. His case will now proceed to the Pre-Trial Chamber, where it is likely to reach a deadlock unanticipated by the ECCC’s founders. The tribunal, despite this likely coming stalemate, plans to operate through 2020, further adding to its current estimated $300 million in costs. Some Cambodians and international commentators are questioning if this pursuit of belated and perhaps unobtainable justice is worth the price...
http://sea-globe.com/khmer-rouge-tribun ... -millions/
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

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June 4, 2019
Khmer Rouge Tribunal appeal hearing set
The pre-trial chamber of the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal has set June 19 to 21 for the appeal hearing of case 004/2 against former senior cadre Ao An.

Neth Pheaktra, the court’s spokesman, yesterday said that the notification of the hearing has been sent out to all parties for their participation, including the defence team and the accused.

The national and the international co-prosecutors, and the national and international defence lawyers, will be given the floor to present their arguments. The accused, if present, shall be given the opportunity to make a personal statement at the end of the hearing.
Mr An was charged in March 2015 with premeditated homicide and crimes against humanity and on March 14, 2016, he was charged with additional crimes, including genocide.

In August 2018, the co-investigating judges issued separate closing orders against him. The national co-investigating judge issued a dismissal of the case, finding that Mr An did not fall within the personal jurisdiction of the court.

The international co-investigating judge indicted him for genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the 1956 Cambodian Penal Code.

“The pre-trial chamber has decided that a hearing will be held in case 004/2 to hear the arguments of the parties before it issues its decision on the appeals,” a court statement read.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50610653/k ... aring-set/
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by kyoshiroxmibu »

poor cambodia citizen, they were the first one to suffer and the last one to suffer too, only connection, network and wealth is the power
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this News ed.
It is still important - even though the tribunal has totally lost the plot.
(hijacked by the legal profession, I reckon)
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by Jerry Atrick »

Lol, it had lost the plot as far back as eight or nine years ago.

Huge waste of money.
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

Yeah well, it probably never had a realistic plot in the first place. That is where the problem started.
Nevertheless, despite my disappointment and cynicism, I still reckon it was better than nothing.
Million of Cambodians have received at least some degree of resolution because of these trials. That's a fact.

At least it is better than everyone else involved in the whole US/indochina mega-atrocity, who haven't staged any kind of trial for anyone.
A huge congratulations to Cambodia for that, at least.

A huge wastage of money, but not a total waste by any means.
And it is only about .0000 something of the cost of the bombs.
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Re: Life Sentences Upheld Against Khmer Rouge Leaders

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1 min ago - BREAKING NEWS
International Co-Investigating Judge resigns from Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Image

The international co-investigating judge of the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has resigned today after the conclusion of investigation of case 004.

According to a court statement, Judge Michael Bohlander from Germany had submitted his resignation today and will be returning to England to serve as the Chair in Comparative and International Criminal Law at Durham Law School.

His resignation was made following a disagreement with his Cambodian co-investigating judge, You Bunleng on the case 004 whether a former Khmer Rouge senior cadre Yim Tith falls within its jurisdiction.

Cambodian judge, You Bunleng claimed Yim Tith, a senior cadre in charge of southwest zone did not fall within the court’s jurisdiction while judge, Bohlander says evidence proof that Yim Tith’s accusations were within the court’s jurisdiction and could be indicted for punishment.

Yim Tith was case 004 and charged with genocide of the Khmer Krom and crime against humanity during his role in the Democrat of Kampuchea.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50619201/i ... -tribunal/
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