Lawyers Urge 'Urgent' Release of Ieng Sary
Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary appeared for a third day in pre-trial hearings, where the courts heard arguments over a royal pardo
Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary appeared for a third dayin pre-trial hearings, where the court heard arguments surrounding a royal pardon for a 1979 genocide verdict and death sentence. Defense lawyers are pushing for Ieng Sary's release on thegrounds that he has already been tried for genocide, by a 1979 court set up in the wake of the ouster of the Khmer Rouge by Vietnamese forces. As part of a deal with the government in 1996, then-kingNorodom Sihanouk pardoned the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister in returnfor his defection to the government. Ieng Sary, who was too weak to finish a hearing on Monday,sat quietly in the court room listening to the arguments. "The amnesty and the pardon conform with the Cambodianconstitution," said Ang Udom, Ieng Sary's Cambodian lawyer. "All thecrimes that have been charged against him are under the dimension of this royal[decree]." "The pre-trial chamber must order the release of IengSary, urgently and without condition," Ang Udom told the court. The pardon, granted Sept. 14, 1996, banned furtheraccusations of Ieng Sary under an anti-Khmer Rouge law. Michael Karnavas, co-defense for Ieng Sary, saidWednesday the pardon was approved by the National Assembly and co-primeministers Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen. The co-prime ministers understood the necessity for amnestyfor Ieng Sary, which led to the mass defection of Khmer Rouge troops to thegovernment, Karnavas said. Ieng Sary was an agent of peace, Karnavas said. However, prosecutors and civil parties rejected thelegitimacy of the pardon. Co-prosecutor William Smith said Cambodia was a signature country tointernational genocide mandates. According to international law, and to obligationsof each country member, Cambodia has an obligationto charge against such kind of violation, Smith said. The royal pardon was only for Ieng Sary's execution, and notto prevent the prosecution of other crimes, Smith said. Civil parties, which participated in the hearing, explainedthat the pardon was involved with government policy at the time, and the royal pardonwas motivated by peace and reconciliation for the country.