Genocide case opens against Khmer Rouge leaders
Phnom Penh (dpa) - A United Nations-backed court in Phnom Penh opened the first genocide case against two surviving Khmer Rouge leaders on Friday, in the second phase of a lengthy war crimes trial.
As the session got under way, victims of the regime gathered outside the courtroom demanding financial compensation for their suffering.
Nuon Chea, 88, better known as Pol Pot's "Brother Number 2," and Khieu Samphan, 83, former head of state, were sentenced to life imprisonment in August for committing crimes against humanity in the first phase of the trial.
They have appealed that verdict.
The second part of the case involves what many consider to be more serious charges of genocide, rape, forced marriage and internal purges.
"You will hear in this trial from the women of Democratic Kampuchea who were raped as part of the (Khmer Rouge) policy," prosecutor Chea Leang told the court, referring to Cambodia by its name under the Pol Pot regime.
Charges relating to the genocide of two minority groups - the Cham Muslims and the ethnic Vietnamese - will also be heard, she said.
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