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Agence France-Presse

A UN-backed court on Wednesday dismissed a case against a former Khmer Rouge cadre charged with crimes against humanity, highlighting the difficulties of bringing lower level members of the brutal regime to justice.
The Khmer Rouge dismantled modern society in Cambodia in their quest for an agrarian Marxist utopia, killing up to two million people. Only a handful of senior leaders have been jailed by the special court set up to deliver justice to the regime’s victims.
But a string of recent cases had raised hopes of new convictions in a country where thousands of regime officials have never paid for their crimes.
Mid-ranking cadre Im Chaem, a former district official, was among four Khmer Rouge members facing prosecution for charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
How I survived the Khmer Rouge: Cambodian activist Loung Ung
Prosecutors and survivors accused her of being a key player in overseeing regime policies that led to the deaths of tens of thousands.
But on Wednesday two judges – a Cambodian and a German national – threw out the prosecution against her, ruling the court did not have the remit to pursue lower level cadres.
“Im Chaem is not subject to the [tribunal’s] personal jurisdiction, which means she was neither a senior leader nor otherwise one of the most responsible officials of the Khmer Rouge regime,” the court said in a statement. The decision illustrates both the limits of the court’s powers as well as the Cambodian government’s public unease over pursuing fresh trials.

Strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen – himself a former Khmer Rouge cadre before he defected – has repeatedly hit out at the prospect of further prosecutions, warning they could ignite civil unrest.
Critics say Hun Sen is worried new cases might shine an uncomfortable spotlight on historical links between government members and the brutal communist regime.
Cambodian Khmer Rouge cadre owns up to burning four Westerners to ashes
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches the Khmer Rouge atrocities, said he was dismayed by the decision.
“It is difficult to swallow but we must accept the decision with the understanding that the judges have followed the rules and the evidence,” he said. “In reality, it shouldn’t just be those who commit crimes against millions of people who should be charged as a responsible person,” he added, saying lower level members responsible for fewer deaths should still be in the dock.

But some survivors welcomed the decision, weary that new trials would hinder the country’s ability to move on. “I don’t want this Khmer Rouge trial to go too far. Otherwise, we need to prosecute all Khmer Rouge members,” Chum Mey, one of a handful survivors from Khmer Rouge’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison, said.
Prosecutors and civil parties are allowed to appeal against the decision.
The former Khmer Rouge cadres who turned to God for salvation
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 without ever facing justice and the vast majority of regime cadres responsible for one the 20th century’s worst genocides remain free. But the court has seen some success.
“Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be sentenced to life in jail for crime against humanity from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-79. The pair are also currently undergoing a second trial for genocide of ethnic Vietnamese and Muslim minorities, forced marriage and rape.


Cambodian court dismisses crimes against humanity case against mid-level Khmer Rouge cadre

A UN-backed court has dismissed a case against a former Khmer Rouge cadre charged with crimes against humanity. Photo: Reuters

(FILES) Picture from files dated 17 April 1975 shows a young Khmer Rouge fighter patrolling in the streets of Phnom Penh. Twenty five years ago, the Khmer Rouge army emerged from Cambodia's thick jungles to take control of the country, signalling the start of a brutal, tragic era. AFP PHOTO/CLAUDE JUVENAL / AFP PHOTO / CLAUDE JUVENAL [19FEBRUARY2017 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE]

In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen talks with top leaders of his party before an event by the ruling Cambodian People's Party marking the 36th anniversary of the 1979 downfall of the Khmer Rouge regime at their party headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

‘They are heroes’: Angelina Jolie honours survivors of sexual violence under Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie during a press conference in Siem Reap. Photo: AFP

Actress Angelina Jolie (L) greets King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia as she arrives for the opening ceremony of the film "First They Killed My Father" in Siem Reap province, Cambodia February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

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Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 without ever facing justice and the vast majority of regime cadres responsible for one the 20th century’s worst genocides remain free
