Cambodia welcomes sentence for two former Khmer Rouge leaders

Cambodia has welcomed the verdict of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) against two former Khmer Rouge leaders on charges of crimes against humanity.

On August 8, government spokesman Ek Tha stated that Cambodia will never forget seeking justice for victims under the Khmer Rouge regime and welcomed the latest verdict of the ECCC.

Defendants Khieu Samphan (left) and Nuon Chea at the trial. (Source: AFP/VNA)

A day earlier, the ECCC sentenced two former Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, to life in prison for crimes against humanity. The ECCC’s verdict also received sympathy and support from the victims’ families, many countries, and social organizations.

Nuun Chea, 88, and Khieu Samphan, 83, are among senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime accused of causing the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians from 1975-1979.

The verdict, which followed a two-year trial from November 2011 to late October 2013, is the first for senior Khmer Rouge figures. Last week, the ECCC began a second trial of two former leaders and launched two investigations into lower-ranking figures.

The ECCC, sponsored by the United Nations, was established in 2006 with the aim of finding justice for victims under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975-1979. Before sentencing the two former Khmer Rouge leaders, the ECCC had handed down a life sentence to Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, former director of Tuol Sleng prison, for war crimes and crimes against humanity./.

According to VNA