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Khmer Rouge jailer to face court First hearing for Cambodia court
(about 3 hours later)
The former head of a notorious Khmer Rouge prison is due to appear in front of the UN-backed Cambodia genocide tribunal at its first public session. An international genocide tribunal set up to try surviving members of Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime is holding its first public hearing.
Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Comrade Duch, ran Tuol Sleng jail in Phnom Penh where around 14,000 people were tortured, with most of those dying. The UN-backed court is hearing a plea for bail from Kang Kek Ieu, or Duch, the former head of a notorious prison.
Duch was the first of five senior Khmer Rouge officials to be arrested and charged by the court.
More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 and 1979.More than a million people are thought to have died during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 and 1979.
Duch was the first of five surviving leaders to be targeted by the court. Spokesman Peter Foster described the hearing as a "milestone" for the tribunal, which was set up last year after decades of wrangling.
On Monday, the former Khmer Rouge head of state, Khieu Samphan, was formally charged with committing crimes against humanity. "It's a big day," he said. "The spotlight will now be on Cambodia."
The 76-year-old, a former close confidant of the movement's leader Pol Pot, was arrested at a hospital in Phnom Penh and taken to appear before the tribunal.
'Sense of relief''Sense of relief'
The BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says the appearance of Duch, the youngest surviving member of the Khmer Rouge's leadership, will be a real milestone for the special tribunal. Duch, who is now in his 60s, was driven to the court from a nearby detention centre, where he has been held since his arrest in July.
WHO WERE THE KHMER ROUGE? Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979Founded and led by Pol Pot, (above) who died in 1998 Abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopiaBrutal regime that did not tolerate dissentMore than a million people thought to have died from starvation, overwork or execution Brutal Khmer Rouge regimeWHO WERE THE KHMER ROUGE? Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979Founded and led by Pol Pot, (above) who died in 1998 Abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopiaBrutal regime that did not tolerate dissentMore than a million people thought to have died from starvation, overwork or execution Brutal Khmer Rouge regime
A protracted civil war and political and legal wrangling caused decades of delay in setting it up, so the appearance of a suspect in open court is a significant event, our correspondent says. Three decades ago, he ran Tuol Sleng jail in Phnom Penh, where thousands of people were tortured and executed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Lawyers for the elderly ex-leader are appealing for bail on the grounds that he was held without charge under the jurisdiction of another court for eight years.
The BBC's Guy De Launey, in Phnom Penh, says that Duch's appeal for bail is not in itself a particularly significant event as the former Khmer Rouge jailer is unlikely to be released.
But his appearance in court shows the tribunal is finally moving forward, our correspondent adds.
After decades of delays in setting up the special courts, the symbolic value is enormous, he says.
"This will be a first full-blown hearing for the people to be able to see that justice is being done," the co-prosecutor, Robert Petit, told the BBC."This will be a first full-blown hearing for the people to be able to see that justice is being done," the co-prosecutor, Robert Petit, told the BBC.
"I hope that it will provide Cambodians with a certain sense of relief that the process is ongoing and is transparent, or as transparent as it can be.""I hope that it will provide Cambodians with a certain sense of relief that the process is ongoing and is transparent, or as transparent as it can be."
Our correspondent says there are unlikely to be any explanations from the 65-year-old, who once ran a prison later labelled a "killing machine", at the hearing on Tuesday. Five senior Khmer Rouge officials are now in the custody of the tribunal.
Instead Duch is likely to seek bail after spending more than eight years in jail without trial, he adds. On Monday, former head of state Khieu Samphan was formally charged with committing crimes against humanity.
The hearing is expected to take place over two days, with the judges announcing their decision early in December. Pol Pot's second-in-command Nuon Chea and the former foreign and social affairs ministers Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith are also facing charges.
Duch is unlikely to face trial until the middle of next year. Their trials are expected to begin next year.