The Co-Prosecutors Woke and Realized...

The Co-Prosecutors woke up and realized that there would not be doing the Cambodian people service if they did not go after every count in the charge against Kaing Guek Eav fathomable. Observers of international criminal tribunals remember last time it happened: it was when ICTY/ICTR Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte decided to charge Slobodan Milosevic with every count the prosecution felt they could justify regardless what an overkill it was if the prosecution was merely looking to convict; we also remember what happened in that case -- the defendant died of natural causes before the court could convict or aquit. It is noteworthy that it did not take Del Ponte 2 years to realize what the content of the charge against Milosevic should be. Equally noteworthy is the time that had spanned between the filing of Milosovic's indictment and the commission of the offenses he was alleged to have committed and those of Kaing's. This time is less than 7 years in Milosevic's case and about 30 years in Kaing's case. Pretty drastic a difference to come up with a bulk of new evidence in Kaing's case unless all the prosecution is doing is buying time. This will start sound as even more of a possibility if one takes into account that the closing order of the CIJs was, for the most part, a carbon copy of the Final Submission filed by the OCPs about a week ago. The prosecution got everything they wanted and yet they decide to change their mind just when the trial date was being set. There better be a good explanation for this type of use of court time.