Phnom Penh (dpa) – Former Khmer Rouge senior leader Nuon Chea said he would exercise his right to remain silent at a war crimes trial in Cambodia on Monday, as the court prepared to hear testimony from convicted regime prison chief Kaing Guek Eav. Nuon Chea – known as Brother Number Two and regarded as one of Khmer Rouge's chief ideologues – asked the UN-backed court to consider the historical context behind the 1975-79 regime, accusing it of looking at the head of the crocodile rather than its tail or body in an opening speech. The former cadre referred to the US aerial bombardment of Cambodia from 1965-73 as well as the role of Vietnam, before announcing that he had decided to exercise his right to remain silent. Kaing Guek Eav, alias Comrade Duch, was set to testify in Case 002 on Monday afternoon. The former chief of Khmer Rouge torture center S-21 saw his sentence for crimes against humanity and war crimes raised to life in an appeal judgement in February. The two other defendants in Case 002 are the former head of state Khieu Samphan and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary. The defendants have denied charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during their movement's rule, when as many as 2.2 million people died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/i0WO2 Tags: Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea, Trial Section: Human Rights, Latest News, Southeast Asia
