A War Crimes Stage Ready for the Next Act

Published on Mar 28, 2015 by Luke Hunt

Marathon efforts to prosecute Pol Pot’s surviving henchmen have never been short on controversy. “Too late,” “too long,” and “too expensive” are among the chief criticisms faced by officials at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Written by Luke Hunt, this story first appeared in Warscapes.Hopes for justice recently took another hit with accusations that the defense teams for Brother No. 2 Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan were deliberately stalling proceedings in their genocide trial at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a purpose-built court on the dusty outskirts of Phnom Penh.The court, as one long-time observer put it, had been ground down in legalese. That was until arguments about whether it should continue exploded....

Must Go On; Can't Go On

Published on Mar 28, 2015 by Luke Hunt

THE Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts for Cambodia (ECCC), an unusual and ambitious international legal body with a name to match, has occupied a compound on the dusty outskirts of the country’s capital since 2006. Officially its goal is justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge, whose bloody misrule ended in 1979.In recent years the ECCC’s lawyers and judges have bickered and toiled, usually in obscurity but sometimes under a spotlight, often testing the tolerance of Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen. Last week they may have breached it.Read more from The Economist..

Bashar Al Assad wishes you a merry Christmas’

Published on Dec 7, 2014 by Luke Hunt

A barrel bomb from a Syrian army helicopter plummets to earth but, instead of exploding and killing scores, it bounces and spins to a stop, the first sign this is not what it seems. Dwarf-like ISIL fighters grab the barrel and roll it to a fortified compound as sinister music swirls, tiny feet pitter-patter and a black ISIL banner flutters overhead.Read more from Dan Boylan at The National..

Al-Qaeda Declares War on China, Too

Published on Nov 2, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Al-Qaeda central appears to have joined the Islamic State in calling for jihad against China over its alleged occupation of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.Read more from Zachary Keck in The Diplomat..

Kidnap Victim Backs Australia's News Blackouts

Published on Oct 12, 2014 by Luke Hunt

One of Australia’s longest held kidnap victims has backed the imposition of news blackouts in kidnappings despite growing calls in Britain and the United States for them to be reviewed.Warren Rodwell, an adventurer and teacher held for 472 days in the southern Philippines, says news blackouts should be routinely imposed for one to three months, including for captives of the Islamic State, which has released videos of the beheadings of its hostages.Read more from Lindsay Murdoch in The Age..