ECCC asks for indictments of five

The day many said would never come has come.

Prosecutors for the international tribunal examining the 1970s Cambodian genocide submitted a list Wednesday of Khmer Rouge leaders they recommend stand trial.

A statement from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia said there were five suspects, but did not name them. Judges will evaluate the evidence and decide on indictments. [...]

All five suspects were senior leaders, it said. [...]

Other senior leaders live freely in Cambodia but are in declining health: Nuon Chea, the movement’s chief ideologue; Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister; and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state.

Kaing Khek Iev, who headed the former Khmer Rouge S-21 torture center, is the only top figure in government custody, but not under the law guiding the tribunal.

The story gives no indication on how long a decision might take. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The statement from the UNAKRT (available here) explains the charges:

The factual allegations in this Introductory Submission constitute crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, homicide, torture and religious persecution. The Co-Prosecutors, therefore, have requested the Co-Investigating Judges to charge those responsible for these crimes.

LATER UPDATE: Nuon Chea remains defiant.

“I will go to the court and don’t care if people believe me [or] not,” Nuon Chea said. “It happened 30 years ago and it’s very difficult to remember. Some of them (tribunal members) never experienced that. They weren’t there, how could they know what was going on.”