[QODLink]
Asia-Pacific
Trial of four Khmer Rouge leaders opens
Elderly defendants include "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and former Cambodian president Khieu Samphan.
Last Modified: 27 Jun 2011 03:13

The UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia has opened the trial of four top leaders of the Khmer Rouge accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, religious persecution, torture and other crimes in the late 1970s.

The elderly defendants, including "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan, looked frail as they sat in the dock on Monday.

"The (court) opens the initial hearing of case 002," chief judge Nil Nonn told the court before proceeding to list the charges against the accused.

In its first trial, the tribunal sentenced former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav to 30 years in jail last July for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Topics in this article
People
Country
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
Murder of Somali draws ire of foreign African nationals over rising xenophobic violence.
We look at the impact of increased sanctions against the Islamic Republic and ask who it really affects.
Tupamaros enforce rough justice in Venezuela's slums to support socialism, but critics say the group are violent thugs.
More than a decade ago the US launched a war against Afghanistan, but was it a justified battle?
Featured
Syria's War
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
Turkey Protests
Extensive coverage of political unrest that spread from Istanbul to other areas.
Obama's scandal
Revelations over NSA spying are threatening president's European trip.
Farming in Greece
Some urbanites are returning to their rural roots to farm the land.
People 'without'
Kuwait's 'Bidoon' have been stripped of rights and treated as second-class citizens.
join our mailing list