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Top Khmer Rouge leader arrested Top Khmer Rouge leader arrested
(40 minutes later)
Police in Cambodia have arrested the most senior surviving member of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime, as part of a UN-backed genocide investigation.Police in Cambodia have arrested the most senior surviving member of the notorious Khmer Rouge regime, as part of a UN-backed genocide investigation.
Nuon Chea was flown from his jungle home to the capital, Phnom Penh, to appear before Cambodian and foreign jurists in a special genocide tribunal.Nuon Chea was flown from his jungle home to the capital, Phnom Penh, to appear before Cambodian and foreign jurists in a special genocide tribunal.
The 82-year-old was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.The 82-year-old was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot.
More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975-79.More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975-79.
Nuon Chea, who was also known as "brother number two", has been living alongside Khieu Samphan, once the Khmer Rouge's head of state, in Pailin, the movement's former jungle headquarters. Nuon Chea, who was also known as "Brother Number Two", has spent the past few decades living freely in Pailin, the movement's former jungle headquarters.
Police and court officials went to his home near the Thai border early on Wednesday to question him, witnesses said. Police and court officials went to his home near the Thai border early on Wednesday to question him, and issue him with an arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity.
He was then taken under police escort to a helicopter for the flight to Phnom Penh. "He was shaking. His legs looked like they would collapse," neighbour Sok Sothera told the French news agency AFP.
Nuon Chea was then taken under police escort to a helicopter for the flight to Phnom Penh.
"An initial appearance will be held today, during which he will informed of the charges which have been brought against him," the UN-backed tribunal said in a statement.
Five suspectsFive suspects
The UN-backed tribunal has taken years to get off the ground, triggering fears that the ageing Khmer Rouge leaders would never be brought to justice. Because he was second only to Pol Pot - the regime's "Brother Number One", who died in 1998 - Nuon Chea will be the most senior defendant to be tried by the tribunal.
A Thai-trained lawyer, Nuon Chea rose quickly through the ranks of the Khmer Rouge, as it grew from a small Maoist rebel group to a force capable of taking over the country.
Analysts say he had an important decision-making role in the regime, which instituted radical policies aimed at creating an agrarian utopia, but in reality caused the deaths of more than a million people through hunger, illness, overwork and execution.
Nuon Chea himself has consistently denied any responsibility for the deaths, but earlier this year he indicated he was ready to face the tribunal.
After many long delays, the UN-backed trials are finally expected to begin next year.
KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL Will try cases of genocide and crimes against humanityFive judges (three Cambodian) sit in trial courtCases decided by majorityMaximum penalty is life imprisonmentBudget of $56.3m Key figures facing trialKHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL Will try cases of genocide and crimes against humanityFive judges (three Cambodian) sit in trial courtCases decided by majorityMaximum penalty is life imprisonmentBudget of $56.3m Key figures facing trial
But in July, prosecutors charged their first suspect, an ex-Khmer Rouge prison chief, with crimes against humanity. Only one other suspect, Kang Kek Ieu - also known as Duch - has so far been detained.
Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Duch, was in charge of the notorious S21 jail, where thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured and killed. Duch, who was arrested in July, was in charge of the notorious S21 jail in Phnom Penh, where more than 17,000 men, women and children are thought to have been imprisoned and brutally tortured.
Duch was the first of five suspects whom prosecutors have asked the tribunal to investigate over their role in the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Four other people are said to be under investigation.
But the man most wanted for crimes against humanity in Cambodia will never be brought to justice. Their names have not been revealed, but are thought to include former president Khieu Samphan - who has been living next door to Nong Chea in Pailin - and Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary.
Pol Pot, the founder and leader of the Khmer Rouge, died in a camp along the border with Thailand in 1998. Survivors have welcomed the charges against Nong Chea and Duch, but they have also expressed doubts about whether these elderly leaders will ever be brought to account for their deeds during the Khmer Rouge years.
It is already too late to try Pol Pot, and the regime's military commander and one of Pol Pot's most ruthless henchmen, Ta Mok, died last year.