Khmer Rouge cadre charged with genocide of Cham Muslims

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

The international co-investigating judge at Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal forged ahead with his work on a government-opposed case Monday, laying extra charges on the former deputy secretary of the regime’s Central Zone.

In March 2015, former International Co-Investigating Judge Mark Harmon initially charged Ta An with premeditated homicide and crimes against humanity committed at three execution and security center sites. Judge Harmon later resigned for personal reasons.

On Monday, Judge Michael Bohlander – who was sworn in last August – extended the raft of allegations against Ta An to include genocide of the Cham Muslim people, as well as expanding the list of crimes sites and scope of the charge of crimes against humanity against the suspect.

A statement released by the court Monday on behalf of Judge Bohlander said the charges of crimes against humanity and genocide had occurred at 13 sites, “and at various locations around Kampong Cham province”. The crimes against humanity included: “murder; extermination; enslavement; imprisonment; torture; persecution against the so-called ‘17 April people,’ former Lon Nol soldiers, Central (Old North) Zone cadres, their families and subordinates, people from the East Zone, and other ‘bad elements’ and ‘internal enemies;’ persecution against Cham and Vietnamese people; and other inhumane acts including forced marriage, rape, enforced disappearances, physical abuse, forced labour, and inhumane conditions of detention”.

The new charges mean this will be the second instance in which the alleged genocide of the country’s Muslim population has been investigated. That charge is currently being tried in what is known as Case 002, with witnesses having testified that they had been made to cut their hair and eat pork, and had been forbidden from praying and reading the Qur’an. Some have also testified that Chams were taken away and executed.

Although the new charges are specific to Ta An, there are two other suspects in what is known as Case 004 – Ta Tith, who was charged with crimes against humanity and genocide of the Khmer Krom people in December 2015, and Im Chaem, charged with homicide and crimes against humanity. Because the investigation into her actions closed in December, Im Chaem was severed from Case 004 last month and proceedings related to her are now known as Case 004/01. But cases 003 and 004 are both vehemently opposed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has repeatedly said that former Khmer Rouge soldiers would foment another uprising, leading to civil war, if they proceed.

The court is currently hearing the second phase of Case 002, in which former head of state Khieu Samphan and “brother number two” Nuon Chea are charged with genocide of the Chams and Vietnamese. They had earlier been convicted of crimes against humanity, which they appealed last month to the Supreme Court Chamber.