PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Jacques Verges, the lawyer for Khieu Samphan, has said that his client will no longer cooperate with the Khmer Rouge Tribunalbecause thousands of pages of evidence had yet to be translated to French. Jacques Verges stated that without the translation, he is unable to effectively defend his client. The court documents are in English only thus far.

Tribunal co-investigating judge Marcel Lemonde told AFP that other suspects have invoked their right to “remain silent at every stage of the proceedings.” However, Marcel Lemonde said that it would not delay the court’s investigation into the crimes. In an email, he said, “We have to organize the investigation differently, that’s it.”

Jacques Verges has been nicknamed “devil’s advocate” because of his past work defending the world’s most notorious criminals. During his legal career, he has defended Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as Carlos the Jackal.

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AFP – Khmer Rouge Leader Halts Cambodian Genocide Court Cooperation: Report – 20 February 2008