VOA常速英语2008年-Khmer Rouge's Brother Number 2 Appears in Court

By Rory Byrne
Phnom Penh
04 February 2008

Almost 30 years after the Khmer Rouge¹ genocide in Cambodia, the group's second-in-command made his first appearance in court Monday. Noun Chea is charged with crimes against humanity and other serious offenses². But, after a brief hearing, the court was adjourned³ to a later date over a dispute concerning the legal status of one of his defense⁴ lawyers. Rory Byrne reports from Phnom Penh.

Appearing old and frail⁵ but still defiant⁶, Noun Chea, made his first appearance in court almost 30 years after the brutal⁷ Khmer Rouge were swept from power by invading Vietnamese troops and their Cambodian allies.

At 81 years old, Noun Chea has spent most of the past three decades living freely in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin, near the Thai border. He was arrested more than four months ago and is being held at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal's purpose-built facility outside Phnom Penh.

 

Known as Brother Number Two, Noun Chea is believed to have been the chief ideologue of the secretive Khmer Rouge and right-hand man to leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

In 1997, Noun Chea was granted amnesty from prosecution⁸ by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in return for defecting to the government with thousands of Khmer Rouge troops, leading many to fear he would escape justice. Helen Jarvis is the spokeswoman for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

"This is, of course, a very important day that Noun Chea, who was known as [Brother] Number Two, is appearing in court for the very first time. So for many people this is an important moment that they thought perhaps would never happen," Jarvis said.

For many of the victims of the Khmer Rouge, the appearance of such a high-ranking KR leader in court is deeply significant. Many hope they will finally see justice done to those deemed 'most responsible' for the deaths of almost two million Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge's rule from 1975 to 1979.

Like many Cambodians, Huy Chhum, 75, from Takeo province close to the Vietnam border, lost scores of family members in those years, including his wife, brother and son.

"Today, I'm feeling better that the man who is responsible for the killing⁹ of my family is appearing in court," Huy said. "My anger has come down from 100 percent to about 70 percent because there are lawyers and prosecutors¹⁰ here who can punish this man for the terrible mistakes he made in the past."

Noun Chea's appearance in court was quickly adjourned at the request of his defense council because one of his chosen foreign defense lawyers was prevented from attending the hearing because he has not been registered with the Cambodian Bar Association. The attorney's application to join the CBA was held up after he submitted a brief last Tuesday seeking the disqualification of one of the tribunal's Cambodian judges. Peter Foster is the official spokesman for the United Nations side of the joint¹¹ Cambodian-U.N. tribunal.

"I think this act of defense is a good sign for the court. It shows that international standards are being met and that Brother Number Two is being fully¹² represented under the law," Foster said.

No date has been set for Noun Chea to reappear in court and he will continue to detained pending¹³ his appeal for release ahead of his trial, expected to begin this year. Noun Chea is the second former Khmer Rouge leader to appear in court so far and cases against at least five other prominent leaders are being prepared.

1 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

2 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

3 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

6 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。