PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The tribunal examining human rights abuses by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia needs to address allegations of interference, a U.N. official said.
The U.N-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia started its second trial examining claims of genocide and crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Khmer Rouge officials Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan.
The trials in Phnom Penh come more than 30 years after the fall of a government responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians from 1975-79.
Minority judges at the tribunal found deficiencies in the way some of the investigative judges applied international standards, however.
"It is essential that these concerns are squarely addressed as the court moves forward," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a statement. "Allegations of interference mar the credibility of any court in the eyes of the public."
The fourth surviving member of top leadership, Ieng Thirith, the regime's minister of social affairs, was excused from the case when tribunal judges ruled she had dementia and was unfit to stand trial. Prosecutors challenged the ruling, delaying her possible release.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in June suggested the tribunal had run its course and foreign donors are growing fatigued with the lengthy court case.
