Khmer Rouge 'first lady' Ieng Thirith dies:Cambodia tribunal
Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 4:18 pm
Khmer Rouge 'first lady' Ieng Thirith dies: Cambodia tribunal
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - The former "first lady" of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime, Ieng Thirith, died on Saturday, according to a UN-backed tribunal.
The tribunal stayed its trial of her in 2012 on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity due to her ill health.
"The accused passed away at approximately 10.30am on 22 August in Pailin, Cambodia," the tribunal said in a statement.
The case against her was suspended after the court ruled that dementia had left her unfit to stand trial.
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asi ... a-tribunal
Ieng Thirith (née Khieu;[1] Khmer: អៀង ធីរិទ្ធ;[2] 10 March 1932[3] – 22 August 2015) was an influential figure in the Khmer Rouge, but was neither a member of the Khmer Rouge Standing Committee nor of the Central Committee.[4] Ieng Thirith was the widow of Ieng Sary, who was minister of foreign affairs of Democratic Kampuchea's Khmer Rouge regime. She served as Minister of Social Affairs from October 1975 until the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.[5]
She was the sister of the late Khieu Ponnary (died in 2003), who was the first wife of Pol Pot. Thirith was the Minister of Social Action during the regime.[6] She was arrested by the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in November 2007 with her husband, Ieng Sary as suspect of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Born Khieu Thirith in northwestern Cambodia's Battambang Province,[7] she came from a relatively wealthy and privileged family, and was the second daughter of a Cambodian judge who abandoned the family during World War II, running off to Battambang with a Cambodian princess.[8]
Thirith graduated from the Lycée Sisowath in Phnom Penh, and while still in Cambodia she became engaged to Ieng Sary, who attended Lycée in the year above her. She went on to Paris with her sister, where she studied English literature, majoring in Shakespeare at the Sorbonne. She became the first Cambodian to achieve a degree in English literature. Thirith married Ieng Sary in the town hall of Paris' 15th arrondissement the summer of 1951 and took her husband's name, becoming Ieng Thirith.[8] Her older sister, Khieu Ponnary, later became the wife of Pol Pot. Together, the two sisters and their husbands later became known as "Cambodia's Gang of Four", a reference to the radical group led by Jiang Qing (Chiang Ching), the widow of Mao Tse-tung.[9
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ieng_Thirith
More about Ieng Thirith's crime from ECCC
Biography
Ieng Thirith graduated from the Lycée Sisowath in Phnom Penh then went to study in Paris, where she majored in Shakespeare studies at the Sorbonne. She became the first Cambodian to receive a degree in English Literature. Returning to Cambodia in 1957, she worked as a professor before founding a private English school in 1960. On 9 October 1975, at a meeting of the CPK Standing Committee, Ieng Thirith was allegedly appointed Minister of Social Affairs in Democratic Kampuchea. She allegedly remained with the Khmer Rouge until her husband Ieng Sary was granted a Royal amnesty and pardon in 1998. Thereafter, they lived together in Phnom Penh until being placed in pre-trial detention by the ECCC in November 2007.
source: http://www.eccc.gov.kh/en/indicted-person/ieng-thirith
PHNOM PENH (AFP) - The former "first lady" of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime, Ieng Thirith, died on Saturday, according to a UN-backed tribunal.
The tribunal stayed its trial of her in 2012 on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity due to her ill health.
"The accused passed away at approximately 10.30am on 22 August in Pailin, Cambodia," the tribunal said in a statement.
The case against her was suspended after the court ruled that dementia had left her unfit to stand trial.
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asi ... a-tribunal
Ieng Thirith (née Khieu;[1] Khmer: អៀង ធីរិទ្ធ;[2] 10 March 1932[3] – 22 August 2015) was an influential figure in the Khmer Rouge, but was neither a member of the Khmer Rouge Standing Committee nor of the Central Committee.[4] Ieng Thirith was the widow of Ieng Sary, who was minister of foreign affairs of Democratic Kampuchea's Khmer Rouge regime. She served as Minister of Social Affairs from October 1975 until the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.[5]
She was the sister of the late Khieu Ponnary (died in 2003), who was the first wife of Pol Pot. Thirith was the Minister of Social Action during the regime.[6] She was arrested by the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in November 2007 with her husband, Ieng Sary as suspect of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Born Khieu Thirith in northwestern Cambodia's Battambang Province,[7] she came from a relatively wealthy and privileged family, and was the second daughter of a Cambodian judge who abandoned the family during World War II, running off to Battambang with a Cambodian princess.[8]
Thirith graduated from the Lycée Sisowath in Phnom Penh, and while still in Cambodia she became engaged to Ieng Sary, who attended Lycée in the year above her. She went on to Paris with her sister, where she studied English literature, majoring in Shakespeare at the Sorbonne. She became the first Cambodian to achieve a degree in English literature. Thirith married Ieng Sary in the town hall of Paris' 15th arrondissement the summer of 1951 and took her husband's name, becoming Ieng Thirith.[8] Her older sister, Khieu Ponnary, later became the wife of Pol Pot. Together, the two sisters and their husbands later became known as "Cambodia's Gang of Four", a reference to the radical group led by Jiang Qing (Chiang Ching), the widow of Mao Tse-tung.[9
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ieng_Thirith
More about Ieng Thirith's crime from ECCC
Biography
Ieng Thirith graduated from the Lycée Sisowath in Phnom Penh then went to study in Paris, where she majored in Shakespeare studies at the Sorbonne. She became the first Cambodian to receive a degree in English Literature. Returning to Cambodia in 1957, she worked as a professor before founding a private English school in 1960. On 9 October 1975, at a meeting of the CPK Standing Committee, Ieng Thirith was allegedly appointed Minister of Social Affairs in Democratic Kampuchea. She allegedly remained with the Khmer Rouge until her husband Ieng Sary was granted a Royal amnesty and pardon in 1998. Thereafter, they lived together in Phnom Penh until being placed in pre-trial detention by the ECCC in November 2007.
source: http://www.eccc.gov.kh/en/indicted-person/ieng-thirith
