The family of detained KR leader Nuon Chea demanded he be released on bail

Detained KRouge chief's family demand bail
Tue Sep 25, 2:08 AM ET

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - The family of detained Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea
demanded Tuesday he be released on bail because they doubt officials
of Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal can tend to his poor
health.

"We want him released on bail so we can take care of him," Nuon Chea's
son, Nuon Say, told AFP.

"I heard there are doctors to take care of him, but we are still
worried about his health... we don't know how they are caring for
him."

Nuon Chea, 81, is the oldest of the Khmer Rouge's ageing leaders, all
of whom are suffering a variety of ailments, making health a major
concern for the court tasked with trying the former regime's leaders.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said earlier that five doctors and
four nurses have been assigned to take care of Noun Chea, adding those
in the court's custody had access to better healthcare than most
Cambodians.

During a routine medical check-up shortly after his arrest last week,
Nuon Chea was pronounced to be in relatively good health.

But his lawyer, Son Arun, said Tuesday he was considering seeking
bail, in part over the concerns of his client's family.

"We are considering the case... I am thinking about the reasons (to
ask for bail)," he said.

Son Arun said the court has already agreed to change Nuon Chea's
prison diet to include more fish and vegetables, and build a new
Western-style toilet that is easier to use.

Only two former leaders have been arrested so far -- Nuon Chea and
former prison chief Duch.

But others are expected, adding to the burden of keeping those accused
of crimes committed during the regime's 1975-79 rule alive long enough
to see the inside of a courtroom.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998, while another likely genocide
suspect, military commander Ta Mok, died last year.

By the time the communist Khmer Rouge regime fell in 1979 up to two
million people had died of starvation, disease, overwork or were
executed in one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

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