Ban on Ta An’s Case File Upheld at KR Tribunal

Ta An, a Khmer Rouge war crimes suspect in the case known as 004, will continue to not be allowed access to his case file, according to a new document published Tuesday by the court.

The January 15 document, which was released Tuesday, supports a July 31 decision by the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s International Co-Investigating Judge Mark Harmon to deny Ta An access to his file because he has not officially been charged with a crime.

Lawyers for Ta An, a former Central Zone deputy secretary during the Pol Pot regime, had appealed Judge Harmon’s decision, but the Cambodian judges in the five-member Pre-Trial Chamber, Prak Kimsan, Ney Thol and Huot Vuthy, dismissed it, saying that they agreed with Judge Harmon.

The chamber’s two international judges, Chang Ho-Chung and Rowan Downing, however, argued that they considered Ta An to be a “charged person” and that Judge Harmon’s decision should be overturned.

Ta An’s lawyers have said that a refusal to grant them access to the file that concerns their client means that they do not know how the investigation against him is proceeding.

Judge Harmon has pressed on with investigating Case 004, which the government is adamant should not proceed.

Mr. Harmon’s national counterpart, Co-Investigating Judge You Bunleng, in line with the government’s position, considers Case 004 closed as it falls outside the tribunal’s mandate to only investigate senior regime leaders and those most responsible for crimes.

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