Court upholds life term for Khmer Rouge leaders
phnom penh — Cambodia’s UNbacked court upheld life sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge leaders on Wednesday for crimes against humanity, in a verdict welcomed by survivors of the brutal regime.
“Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be jailed in 2014 from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-1979.
They appealed their convictions, accusing the court of a string of errors and the judges of failing to remain impartial due to their personal experiences under the regime.
In a lengthy ruling on Wednesday after months of hearings, the bench upheld the bulk of the convictions and the jail terms, but accepted some legal errors had been made in the initial trial. Kong Srim, the Supreme Court Chamber’s top judge, said the pair “had a complete lack of consideration for the ultimate fate of the Cambodian population”, adding that the scale of their crimes was “massive”.
“The Supreme Court Chamber considers that the imposition of a life sentence for each of the accused is appropriate,” he said.
Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan sat impassively as the decision was read out.
The Khmer Rouge regime dismantled modern society in Cambodia in their quest for an agrarian Marxist utopia, killing vast numbers and leaving a generational scar.
“I am so happy with the convictions,” Chhun Leap, 74, who lost around 50 relatives during the Khmer Rouge years, told AFP after leaving the courtroom.
“They are monsters and this is their fate.”—