The four most senior surviving members of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime went on trial for war crimes today, three decades after its revolution marked one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century.
The defendants, all now elderly and infirm, were among the inner circle of the late Pol Pot, the French-educated architect of the Khmer Rouge's ultra-Maoist "Killing Fields" revolution that killed an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians from 1975-1979.
Dressed in casual clothes, Nuon Chea, known as "Brother Number Two", former president Khieu Samphan, former-foreign minister Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, a former social affairs minister, showed no emotion as opening statements to the UN-backed tribunal were read before a packed auditorium in proceedings screened on national television.
Almost a quarter of Cambodia's population were wiped out under the Khmer Rouge through torture, execution, starvation and exhaustion.
The four are charged with committing crimes against humanity and genocide and accused of a litany of crimes under both international and Cambodian laws, including murder, enslavement, religious and political persecution, inhumane treatment and unlawful imprisonment.
All four defendants are expected to enter not guilty pleas. "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, died in 1998.
Except for Khieu Samphan, none of the defendants have shown willingness to cooperate and there are concerns Cambodians will be deprived of the chance to hear first-hand accounts of the motivation and ideology that fuelled an unrelenting killing spree by one of the world's most enigmatic regimes.
Wearing dark sunglasses, a ski hat and sweatshirt, Nuon Chea (84), complained he was in poor health and was too cold and left the courtroom moments after the proceedings began.
He was later joined by Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, who also cited health reasons. Their lawyers requested future proceedings be held over video link.
The closest any of the former cadres have come to disclosure is seen in an award-winning documentary film yet to be released in Cambodia entitled Enemies of the People, in which Nuon Chea, during six years of recorded interviews with the journalist, admitted those seen as threats to the party line were "corrected" at the behest of the regime.
The filmmakers have said they would not hand over tapes if asked by the court, but judges say material from the film can be used by prosecutors once in the public domain.
The case is a crucial test of whether the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a hybrid international-led tribunal created in 2005, can deliver justice.
Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian centre for human rights, said the start of the second case was a "cathartic moment" that he hoped would help bring some closure.
The crimes "remain ingrained in Cambodia's collective psyche. I hope that this trial ... provides all victims with some sense of justice, however delayed that justice may be," Mr Virak said in a statement.
Sentences handed down by the tribunal can range from a minimum five years to a maximum of life in prison. There is no death penalty in Cambodia.
"I lost three children, my father and husband," said Som Hoeun, a 66-year old villager from the southern province of Kompong Speu as she queued up to get into the court. She said it was worth the wait to see Pol Pot's top cadres brought to book: "No matter what how long it has been, I'm always hopeful there will be justice."
Cases have moved at a snail's pace in the tribunal and its processes are extremely bureaucratic. The defendants are old and in poor health and some might die before a verdict is delivered.
The court has so far handed down just one sentence, a 35-year jail term, commuted to 19 years, for Kaing Guek Eav, alias 'Duch', over the deaths of more than 14,000 people at the notorious S-21 prison. He has appealed against the ruling.
His sentence was seen by many Cambodians as too lenient and an unexplained decision this month by judges not to pursue a third case, believed to involve former military commanders, has prompted resignations by court staff and outrage from rights groups complaining of political interference by Cambodia's government and United Nations inaction .
Prime minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rogue cadre, has shown his disdain for the court and last year told UN chief Ban Ki-moon that further indictments were "not allowed."
Reuters