The Khmer Rouge tribunal ended 15 years of public hearings today with the former head of state, Khieu Samphan, taking the stand for a dramatic 16 minutes in a last ditch appeal against his conviction for genocide.
Looking fit and dressed in his usual beige jacket, the 90-year-old, who had discarded a face mask worn to guard against COVID-19, said, “I categorically refuse to accept the accusation and the conviction of genocide.”
“I can not accept the accusation that I was involved in a plot to commit crimes against my compatriots including the Cham or the Vietnamese,” he said.
In full: https://thediplomat.com/2021/08/the-last-stand-by-pol-pots-last-man/