Khmer Rouge lawyers slam PM's 'killer' remarks

Lawyers for a top Khmer Rouge leader accused of genocide yesterday condemned alleged remarks by Cambodian Premier Hun Sen describing their client as a "killer" whose testimony was "deceitful".
The comments, reported by Vietnamese media last week, "were a very clear statement about the guilt of Nuon Chea by a high government official," defence lawyer Michiel Pestman complained to Cambodia's UN-backed court, as hearings resumed in a landmark atrocities trial.
Giving evidence last month, Nuon Chea, 85, partly blamed Vietnam, a country he said wanted to "annex" Cambodia, for the mass killings that occurred under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime.
The prime minister reportedly described Nuon Chea as a "killer and genocide (perpetrator) defending himself in an effort to evade the crime".
"It's not up to the prime minister to decide whether my client is guilty," Pestman told the judges.