Pol Pot’s Sister-in-Law Deemed Unfit for Trial
The ruling, which upholds an earlier decision, found that all treatment options have been exhausted and that Thirith’s sickness is “likely irreversible.”
She was charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, homicide, torture and religious persecution related to the 1975-1979 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which resulted in the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians.
The court statement said all charges against the former social affairs minister for the radical Communist movement have been “postponed indefinitly.” It said her release does not reflect a ruling on her guilt or innocence.
The tribunal is seeking justice for the legions of victims who died of starvation, execution or lack of medical care during the Khmer Rouge’s reign.
Ieng Thirith and her three co-defendants are the most senior survivors of the regime’s leadership. All defendants deny the charges. Pol Pot died in 1998.