Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state currently on trial for crimes against humanity, has once again been hospitalized, his lawyer said Tuesday.
The 82-year-old defendant is also appealing the scope of the next phase of the trial against him, according to his national lawyer Kong Sam Onn, who said his client fell ill a few days ago and was sent to Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital.
“He is in hospital. Generally he has good health, but now he has a cold and a fever,” he said.
Ms. Sam Onn said that Khieu Samphan’s defense team, concerned about his right to a speedy trial, has filed an appeal to the tribunal’s Supreme Court Chamber asking them to set out when the former Khmer Rouge leader will face the long list of charges included in the Case 002 indictment, following the Trial Chamber’s decision to select only some of the crimes to be heard in the second phase of the case.
“So far, they have only decided on the scope they are going to hear for Case 002/02, but we don’t know what they are going to do with the rest of the charges—they are silent on this,” he said. “This is in violation of Khieu Samphan’s rights. He is supposed to know when he is going to be tried for these charges.”
