A two-star general in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces told the Khmer Rouge tribunal on Monday that Vietnamese prisoners of war were treated humanely during the ultra-communist regime.
Ieng Phan, 64, formerly a Khmer Rouge regiment commander in Svay Rieng province and now a major general, told the court that despite daily battles, captured Vietnamese soldiers faced “no physical mistreatment” and were later sent to Thailand.
Maj. Gen. Phan also said that he defected to the government in 1997 alongside former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth, who remains free in Battambang province despite being charged with crimes in Case 003, a proceeding the government opposes.
“When you reintegrated into the Cambodian army, were you told that you would not be prosecuted for anything that happened during DK?” defense attorney Victor Koppe asked.
“I was informed that there will be no prosecutions against me,” Maj. Gen. Phan replied.
Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan are on trial for crimes including genocide as part of Case 002.
