Cambodian court ends prisoner segregation

01/10/2008 22:02:25

Judges at Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge court have ended the segregation of five leaders to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ruling lifts an earlier order keeping the jailed suspects apart to stop them possibly colluding to pressure witnesses or victims.

The judges noted investigators had had enough time to collect evidence over the past year while the suspects were in prison.

The five senior Khmer Rouge leaders, mostly in their 70s and 80s, are locked up in a one-storey bungalow just 50 metres from the courtroom where they are expected to go on trial within a year.

The first trials are expected to begin late this year or early 2009.

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