Detained Khmer Rouge cadres appeal detention: court

Detained Khmer Rouge cadres appeal detention: court
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJ3e1bkTBgjEA0zKZ2VQDfsjPcxg

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Detained Khmer Rouge ministers Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith have appealed against their detention by a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia, court officials said Thursday.
The pair were arrested last month and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since then they have been detained by the genocide tribunal for their alleged roles in the Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-79 rule.
Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said lawyers for Ieng Sary, 82, and Ieng Thirith, 75, filed their appeals with the court on Wednesday.
\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>"The\ncourt has already received their appeals," Reach Sambath told AFP.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Ieng\nSary's lawyer Ang Udom said the appeal cited his client's fear that he could\ndie in detention. "We are worried about his health," he told AFP.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>The\ncourt earlier said that both Ieng Sary and his wife were flight risks,\nrejecting arguments that they were too frail to leave Cambodia.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>The\ncourt also said their detention was necessary to prevent any acts of revenge by\nvictims of the regime and any pressure being put on witnesses.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>"What\nthe court ruled is all wrong," Ang Udom said, insisting that Ieng Sary\nwould not flee the country.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Ieng\nThirith's lawyer Phat Pouv Seang said he submitted an appeal on the grounds\nthat his client is "mentally ill." He declined to give more details\non her health condition.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Ieng\nSary and his wife have rejected the accusations against them.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Both\nhave been widely implicated in the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge during\none of the 20th century's worst atrocities, including murder, extermination,\nimprisonment, enslavement and forced labour, court records said.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Up\nto two million people were executed, or died of starvation and overwork as the\ncommunist regime emptied Cambodia's\ncities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian\nutopia.",1]
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"The court has already received their appeals," Reach Sambath told AFP.
Ieng Sary's lawyer Ang Udom said the appeal cited his client's fear that he could die in detention. "We are worried about his health," he told AFP.
The court earlier said that both Ieng Sary and his wife were flight risks, rejecting arguments that they were too frail to leave Cambodia.
The court also said their detention was necessary to prevent any acts of revenge by victims of the regime and any pressure being put on witnesses.
"What the court ruled is all wrong," Ang Udom said, insisting that Ieng Sary would not flee the country.
Ieng Thirith's lawyer Phat Pouv Seang said he submitted an appeal on the grounds that his client is "mentally ill." He declined to give more details on her health condition.
Ieng Sary and his wife have rejected the accusations against them.
Both have been widely implicated in the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge during one of the 20th century's worst atrocities, including murder, extermination, imprisonment, enslavement and forced labour, court records said.
Up to two million people were executed, or died of starvation and overwork as the communist regime emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia.
\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>The\nKhmer Rouge also abolished money, religion and schools.\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\>Five\nformer regime leaders have been detained so far by the tribunal. Trials are now\nexpected to begin in mid-2008\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont size\u003d\"2\" face\u003d\"Arial\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\n\u003c/div\>\n\n\u003c/div\>\n\n\n",0]
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The Khmer Rouge also abolished money, religion and schools.
Five former regime leaders have been detained so far by the tribunal. Trials are now expected to begin in mid-2008