Senior Cambodian officials named for genocide investigation

An investigating judge for the UN genocide tribunal in Cambodia has named four senior government officials as persons of interest, according to confidential documents obtained by The Age.

The current Cambodian senate president Chea Sim, National Assembly president Heng Samrin, the chief of the army and another senator have allegedly been named by the UN investigator, in connection with a case examining the imprisonment and murder of thousands of people at the Tuol Sleng prison.

All four officials served in the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979, which oversaw the death of at least 2 million people.

However, prosecuting all those who committed crimes as part of the regime has proven difficult, with the current Cambodian government being led by Prime Minister Hun Sen having also served with the Khmer Rouge.

Cases against a former Khmer air force commander and navy chief have been blocked by the government, with a UN judge quitting from the tribunal in October last year, citing government interference.

See the full report from The Age here.

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