Khmer Rouge leader's lawyer seeks to extend trial

• October 19, 2014 10:25

Defense lawyers for two former Khmer Rouge leaders said on October 18 they would boycott the genocide trial until they are allowed to appeal, a move that threatens to prolong the trial.

Cựu thủ lĩnh Khmer Đỏ Nuon Chea (giữa) tại phiên tòa ở Phnom Penh ngày 17/10. Nguồn: AFP/TTXVN

Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea (center) at the trial in Phnom Penh on October 17. Source: AFP/TTXVN

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"If we have not filed an appeal, we will not be able to attend" the next trials, Khieu Samphan's defense lawyer, Anta Guisse, said after a press conference in the capital Phnom Penh.

This is the first time defense lawyers have threatened to boycott the special tribunal for senior Khmer Rouge figures, which was established in 2006.

In August, 88-year-old Nuon Chea, also known as "Brother Number Two," and 83-year-old Khieu Samphan, former head of the Khmer Rouge regime, were sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia at the first instance.

Both men filed appeals last month, but their lawyers said on October 18 that they needed time to submit all documents related to the appeal.

According to Vietnam+