Cambodia genocide: Special court upholds life imprisonment for Khmer Rouge chief

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Cambodia's former head of state Khieu Samphan (M.)

Photo: KITH SEREY/EPA

A special court in Cambodia on the mass murder of the Rouge confirmed on Thursday the life sentence against former head of state Khieu Samphan for genocide.

In its final verdict, the court, supported by the United Nations, again found the 91-year-old guilty of crimes against humanity such as murder, slavery or rape, as well as serious violations of the Geneva Conventions.

The last surviving senior Khmer Rouge official was convicted in 2018 of genocide against ethnic Vietnamese - the killing of the Cambodian people was not classified as genocide.

He appealed against it last year.

He has always denied any involvement in the crimes against which he is accused.

Under the Maoist Khmer Rouge, between 1975 and 1979, around two million people died as a result of forced labour, starvation, torture and executions.

That was almost a quarter of the total population.

The reign of terror ended on January 7, 1979, when Vietnamese troops expelled those in power.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 without ever being tried.

"Brother Number One," as Pol Pot was known, wanted to use force to turn Buddhist-majority Cambodia into a communist agrarian state.

Only three Khmer bosses were convicted

Judge Kong Srim has now rejected the assurances of former head of state Khieu Samphan in his verdict.

He had "direct knowledge of the crimes" and shared the goal of the other leading representatives of the Khmer Rouge, said the chairman of the extraordinary chamber of the Supreme Court.

The court therefore rejects the defense's arguments.

Khieu Samphan's lawyers had argued in the appeal hearings that the court had been "selective" in its treatment of testimony, convicting their client on legal criteria he could not have known at the time of the alleged crimes.

Khieu Samphan watched the two-and-a-half-hour sentencing in a wheelchair.

It was also attended by around 500 relatives of victims, survivors, diplomats and representatives of the Cambodian government.

Court spokesman Nth Pheaktra then spoke of a "historic day".

The special tribunal was set up in 2006 with the support of the United Nations to try high-ranking Khmer Rouge leaders.

Only three Khmer Rouge officials were convicted, two of whom have since died: "Brother Number Two," Nuon Chea, and former torture chief Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, who has since died.

The lawsuits cost a total of $330 million.

After the conclusion of his last case, the special tribunal is expected to dissolve in three years.

as /AFP