Is justice delayed justice denied? For many in Cambodia, it is.
Nearly 40 years after Khmer Rouge brutality commenced, two notorious Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison. While their convictions are a step forward, many victims of Khmer Rouge brutality did not live to see justice delivered.
During their reign, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, systematically collectivized the capital in under two weeks, and brutally terrorized the entire Cambodian population.
The Cambodian tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was instituted 10 years ago to rectify this injustice. Yet prior to last week’s trial, the hybrid court had only one conviction to its name. Kaing Guek Eav was convicted of crimes against humanity and genocide for overseeing the killing and torturing of at least 14,000 Cambodians during his time as commander of the infamous Khmer Rouge school-turned-prison Tuol Sleng. He was initially sentenced to a mere 35 years in prison, but that sentence has since been appealed, and a life sentence has been levied against Eav.
The most recent convictions are of Nuon Chea, former deputy secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, and Khieu Samphan, the only president of the Khmer Rouge regime. Each oversaw the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. For their complicity—and in some cases direct involvement in the killing and torturing of Cambodians—they were sentenced to life in prison.
Prior to these convictions, the judicial proceedings faced multiple and severe obstacles. Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, wrote:
Judges from the international community have abandoned the court, citing instances of corruption. Hun Sen is known to oppose additional indictments beyond the initial five, leading many to wonder whether he is refusing to allow the trial to proceed because he has a stake in covering up truths that might be revealed about the former Khmer Rouge cadre, himself, or other members of the government.
While three of the five living Khmer Rouge leaders were held to account, the ultimate culprit—Pol Pot—and many others escaped trial, robbing Cambodians of full justice.
Forty years later is too late. Forty years later is justice denied.
