Former Khmer Rouge leader demands new toilet, mattress and better prison food
© AP
22.09.2007 09:31:17
(live-PR.com) - PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Days after being indicted on crimes against humanity, former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea is finding plenty to complain about in prison.
The top aide to late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was detained Wednesday for his alleged role in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during the regime's
1975-79 rule. He since has demanded a mattress, a new toilet and more fish in his diet, his lawyer Son Arun said Saturday.
Nuon Chea was especially upset with his squat toilet, which the frail, 81-year-old found difficult to use, the lawyer said.
«He has had difficulty trying to get up after using it because of an ailment in his knees,» Son Arun said. «I have requested the tribunal to replace it with a sitting toilet for him.
He said Nuon Chea also complained about backaches from sleeping on a woven mat and has asked for a mattress.
«As for his food, he has asked for his meals to be made of fish and vegetable, and his soup to be less salty. He doesn't like meals with fat in it,» Son Arun said.
Reach Sambath, a spokesman for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal, said the squat toilet was better for security reasons because they «have less moving parts that could cause injuries and less places to hide things.
He said, however, the tribunal was considering Nuon Chea's requests.
Nuon Chea is the highest-ranking Khmer Rouge leader detained to appear before the panel.
Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 torture center, was charged on July 31 with crimes against humanity. Prosecutors have recommended three other suspects for trial, but have not named them publicly.
Both defendants have been given services out of reach for most Cambodians, including cable TV, round-the-clock access to medical care and high-calorie meals.
Reach Sambath has said such services are necessary to ensure they live long enough to have their cases tried in court.
Nuon Chea «planned, instigated, ordered, directed or otherwise aided and abetted» crimes that include «murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts,» a charge sheet says.
Nuon Chea has denied any guilt.
The top aide to late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was detained Wednesday for his alleged role in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during the regime's
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Nuon Chea was especially upset with his squat toilet, which the frail, 81-year-old found difficult to use, the lawyer said.
«He has had difficulty trying to get up after using it because of an ailment in his knees,» Son Arun said. «I have requested the tribunal to replace it with a sitting toilet for him.
He said Nuon Chea also complained about backaches from sleeping on a woven mat and has asked for a mattress.
«As for his food, he has asked for his meals to be made of fish and vegetable, and his soup to be less salty. He doesn't like meals with fat in it,» Son Arun said.
Reach Sambath, a spokesman for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal, said the squat toilet was better for security reasons because they «have less moving parts that could cause injuries and less places to hide things.
He said, however, the tribunal was considering Nuon Chea's requests.
Nuon Chea is the highest-ranking Khmer Rouge leader detained to appear before the panel.
Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 torture center, was charged on July 31 with crimes against humanity. Prosecutors have recommended three other suspects for trial, but have not named them publicly.
Both defendants have been given services out of reach for most Cambodians, including cable TV, round-the-clock access to medical care and high-calorie meals.
Reach Sambath has said such services are necessary to ensure they live long enough to have their cases tried in court.
Nuon Chea «planned, instigated, ordered, directed or otherwise aided and abetted» crimes that include «murder, torture, imprisonment, persecution, extermination, deportation, forcible transfer, enslavement and other inhumane acts,» a charge sheet says.
Nuon Chea has denied any guilt.
