Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan sits at the courtroom of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as he awaits a verdict, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, November 16, 2018. Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)/Handout via REUTERS
November 16, 2018
By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Two top officials of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge were found guilty of genocide by a U.N.-backed court on Friday, almost four decades after the apocalyptic regime which oversaw the “Killing Fields” was overthrown.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), said Khmer Rouge “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 92, and former President Khieu Samphan, 87, had been found guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide against the Cham Muslims and the Vietnamese. They were the first Khmer Rouge officials found guilty of genocide and were sentenced to life in prison.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by James Pearson and Michael Perry)
