Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan will remain hospitalized for several more days after he fell ill midway though the first day of evidence-hearing in his genocide trial on Thursday, a spokesman for the Khmer Rouge tribunal said Friday.
Khieu Samphan, 83, was taken to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital suffering from dizziness and high blood pressure after the first witness in the trial, Meas Sokha, had testified for only about 90 minutes.
“The doctors have requested that Khieu Samphan stay in hospital for another five days and the hearings will resume on Thursday,” Lars Olsen, the tribunal’s legal communications officer, said on Friday.
Anta Guisse, a lawyer for Khieu Samphan, confirmed that he would remain hospitalized for at least five days. “He is weak and he needs rest,” she said.
The hearing on Thursday will continue with additional testimony from Mr. Sokha, who was a prisoner in Takeo province’s Kraing Ta Chan prison and resident of Tram Kak district, a major early ideological center for the Khmer Rouge and a focus of this phase of the case.
