Genocide suspect ill in prison

Genocide suspect ill in prison

CAMBODIA: Detained former Khmer Rouge military chief Ta Mok, a
key suspect in a planned Cambodian genocide tribunal, was
seriously ill on Tuesday at a military prison in Phnom Penh, his
doctor and lawyer said.

They said prison medical staff were summoned after Ta Mok, 75,
known as "the butcher", complained of a headache and dizziness.

Relatives and supporters of Ta Mok have threatened protests
unless he is released from jail, a newspaper report said on
Wednesday.

The Khmer-language Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper quoted Ta Mok's
younger sister Chhin Koeun as saying that 1,000 people were
prepared to march in support of her brother, who faces a trial
for crimes against humanity.

Ta Mok and Kang Kek Ieu, better known as "Duch" when he was
commandant of a notorious Khmer Rouge torture center, have been
in detention for almost three years awaiting the formation of a
tribunal to try leaders of the former Marxist regime. --Agencies