13 November 2006

Forceful Defense Crucial for Credibility of Cambodia's Genocide Tribunal, Officials Say

By Ker Munthit

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Legal officials who will work for the defendants in the upcoming genocide trial of surviving Khmer Rouge leaders pledged Monday to present strong cases on behalf of their clients.

They said a vigorous defense is crucial for fairness and credibility in the hybrid Cambodia-United Nations tribunal aimed at seeking justice for crimes committed when the Khmer Rouge held power in 1975-79.

The radical policies of the communist Khmer Rouge are blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and execution.

"It's important that the trials are very fair because if they're seen as show trials, then there will be no justice," said Rupert Skilbeck, the principal defender heading the tribunal's defense office.

"I think that with a forceful defense and a fair prosecution, we can make it a tribunal that will work effectively," he said at a meeting with members of the Cambodian Bar Association to discuss plans for organizing the tribunal's defense office.

Cambodia and the United Nations, after years of difficult negotiations, agreed in 2003 to establish a special tribunal comprising Cambodian and international officials.

Prosecutors are currently working on building cases for trials, which could start sometime next year, according to tribunal officials. They are expected to indict about 10 defendants, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.

Skilbeck said one of the defense office's main goals is to protect each defendants' rights to a proper defense and presumption of innocence—two critical areas regularly abused by Cambodian judges under whose judicial system the tribunal has been formed.

He mentioned mistakes made in other international war crime tribunals, where defendants were portrayed as guilty even before the trials.

"We have to be vigilant that presumption of innocence is preserved," Skilbeck said. "Some people regard us as making life difficult for them right from the beginning. But it's important to remind them of the right to a defense from the beginning."

Skilbeck discussed the process of recruiting defense lawyers to work in his office.

Defending former Khmer Rouge could pose a difficult personal challenge for Cambodian lawyers, who may have suffered under the hardline regime, said Richard Rogers, Skilbeck's deputy.

Rogers acknowledged that Cambodian and foreign attorneys may run into difficulty working together, due to their divergent experiences as well as language barriers. Cambodian, French and English are the three official languages to be used by the tribunal.

The Associated Press