Two convicted Khmer Rouge leaders face new mass murder trial in UN-backed court
Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, already convicted for crimes against humanity in August, now on trial for mass murder of Vietnamese and Muslims
The genocide trial of two former Khmer Rouge leaders resumed Friday at a UN-backed court in Cambodia, where they face charges over the mass murder of Vietnamese people and ethnic Muslims, forced marriage and rape.
Nuon Chea, 88, known as "Brother Number Two", and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 83, have already been given life sentences after a separate trial at the same court in August for crimes against humanity.
That ruling saw them become the first top figures to be jailed from a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975-1979.
The second trial, which opened in July, got under way on Friday with judge Nil Nonn reading out the charges against both suspects of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Nuon Chea, wearing his trademark sunglasses, and Khieu Samphan sat in court alongside their defence teams as around 300 survivors of the regime protested outside, demanding monetary compensation for their suffering.
The complex case against the pair was split into a series of smaller trials in 2011 to get a faster verdict given the vast number of accusations and their advanced age.
