Khmer Rouge tribunal announces new charges

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on April 7 announced charges in the next trial of two former Khmer Rouge regime leaders, including the genocide against Vietnamese people and ethnic Muslims, forced marriages and rape.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on April 7 announced charges in the next trial of two former Khmer Rouge regime leaders, including the genocide against Vietnamese people and ethnic Muslims, forced marriages and rape.

The complex case of the regime's two most senior surviving leaders - Nuon Chea, 87 and Khieu Samphan, 82, has been split into a series of smaller trials, initially focusing on the forced evacuation of people into rural labour camps and related accusations of crimes against humanity.

The first trial against the two was completed late 2013. Verdicts are due in the first half of 2014.

In its statement, the ECCC said that their next trial, for which a date has not yet to be fixed, will cover charges including genocide over the slaughter of Vietnamese people and ethnic Cham Muslims as well as forced marriages and rape.

It also said other charges relate to crimes at Khmer Rouge labour camps and at four prisons, including the notorious Tuol Sleng known as S-21.

Data from the Documentation Centre of Cambodia shows that the estimated number of Cham people who died under the Khmer Rouge regime ranges from 100,000 to 400,000, but it is not known how many Vietnamese were killed.-VNA

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