Killing time at Cambodia's 'show trial'
Dec 12, 2008 By Stephen Kurczy Asia Times Online (Hong Kong)
PHNOM PENH - Judges at the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh have cleared the way for the regime's former chief executioner to stand trial by March. Yet stalling tactics from the defense - specifically from the team of legendary French attorney Jacques Verges - and unresolved corruption allegations threaten to derail this progress.
"The court has made a great deal of progress in the past year, and I think that with a strong push from the UN it will also show itself capable of resolving the corruption charges," said Anne Heindel, a legal advisor with the Documentation Center of Cambodia. "Of greater concern is the possibility that the Cambodian people may lose faith in the process along the way.
"Talks this week in Phnom Penh were expected to address allegations of bribery within the court. In 2007, Billionaire George Soros' Open Society Justice Initiative reported that tribunal staff had paid kickbacks for their positions. In August, the UN Office of International Oversight Services announced that multiple tribunal staffers had complained of corruption. This department is working with the UN Office of Legal Counsel to determine whether the allegations warrant an investigation.
21:51
|
|
This entry was posted on 21:51
You can follow any responses to this entry through
the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response,
or trackback from your own site.
0 comments:
Post a Comment