The former Khmer Rouge foreign minister is so ill that staying in jail could kill him, his lawyers said

Lawyers claim jail could kill former KRouge minister
by Patrick Falby
56 minutes ago



PHNOM PENH (AFP) - The former Khmer Rouge foreign minister is so ill
that staying in jail could kill him, his lawyers said Thursday as they
argued for his release from detention at Cambodia's UN-backed war
crimes court.

Ieng Sary, 82, is one of five top regime cadres detained in connection
with the Khmer Rouge's bloody rule over Cambodia from 1975-79, when up
to two million people died from starvation, overwork or execution.

The joint Cambodia-UN tribunal was established two years ago, after
nearly a decade of haggling, to bring to justice those responsible for
one of the 20th century's worst atrocities.

Like most of the defendants, Ieng Sary appears frail. He has been
hospitalised several times for a heart condition since he and his wife
Thirith were arrested in November.

On the fourth and final day of his pre-trial hearing on Thursday, he
complained about the quality of care in the court's detention
facility, saying medical staff do not respond immediately when he gets
an irregular heartbeat.

"The main issue is that I don't have people close enough to me to give
immediate assistance," Ieng Sary said.

"I know that the staff at the detention facility have helped me a lot,
but I would like people closer to me to help me better," he added.

His lawyers told the panel of five judges that his health had become
so poor that he should be released from jail and placed under house
arrest until his trial.

"We submit that the detention conditions present an actual risk to Mr
Ieng Sary's life," said defence layer Ang Udom.

Co-defence lawyer Michael Karnavas argued that Ieng Sary was too ill
to pose a flight risk.

"How can he possibly flee... He's going to have to get medical
attention," Karnavas said.

Ieng Sary's hearing Monday adjourned earlier than expected after a
doctor said he was too sick to continue, but prosecutors accused him
of merely trying to delay proceedings.

The prosecution argued Thursday that Ieng Sary was under constant
supervision by doctors and nurses, with no sign that he is near death.

"I would go so far as to say the medical care Mr Ieng Sary is getting
at the detention facility is probably higher than anywhere else in
Cambodia," said prosecutor William Smith.

The four other defendants at the tribunal are mostly in the 70s and
80s, and worries for their health have cast a cloud over the
proceedings as critics worry they could die before trials are
completed.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998. The tribunal's first trial is
not scheduled to begin until later this year.

Ieng Sary's lawyers had earlier argued for his outright release,
saying that a royal pardon following his surrender to the government
in 1996 should shield him from prosecution.

Ieng Sary was convicted of genocide in a 1979 trial in absentia
conducted by the government installed after Vietnam occupied the
country and ended the Khmer Rouge's bloody reign.

Resolving how to reconcile his past amnesty with the international
court's authority poses one of the key challenges facing the tribunal,
which operates on a mixture of Cambodian and international law.

Besides Ieng Sary and his wife, the other former leaders in jail
awaiting trial are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former head of
state Khieu Samphan, and Kaing Guek Eav or "Duch," who ran a notorious
torture centre in Phnom Penh.

Duch's trial is expected to begin in September.
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