The lawyer for former Khmer Rouge Minister of Social Action Ieng Thirith submitted an appeal Wednesday against his client’s detention with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Attorney Phat Pouv Seang said that he submitted the appeal on the grounds that Ieng Thirith is mentally ill. Phat Pouv Seang said that he provided supporting evidence detailing his client’s illness, though he declined to discuss the specifics of the appeal with a reporter.
“I hope that my client will be granted bail after this appeal, but the final decision is with the court,” he said.
“If the judge does not believe the evidence from the medical document, let them conduct a medical checkup by doctors,” Phat Pouv Seang added.
On Nov 15, the ECCC’s co-investigating judges ordered Ieng Thirith, 75, and her husband, former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, 82, be placed in pretrial detention for up to one year.
Phat Pouv Seang, along with some of his client’s family members, claimed previously that Ieng Thirith has suffered from and been prescribed medication for mental illness for the past 10 years.
Peter Foster, UN public affairs officer for the ECCC, wrote by phone text message Wednesday afternoon that the ECCC received Ieng Thirith’s appeal, but that details could not be provided at this time.
(Additional reporting by James Welsh)
