Cambodia approves law to prosecute deniers of Khmer Rouge atrocities

A spokesperson said on Saturday that the Cambodian government had approved a draft law that will imprison for five years anybody who denies the Khmer Rouge committed atrocities, including genocide.

During its control from 1975 to 1979, the ultra-Maoist movement, led by “Brother Number One” Pol Pot, killed around two million people via famine, torture, forced work, and mass executions.

The proposed law, which aims to avoid a repetition of the Khmer Rouge’s crimes and offer justice for victims, was adopted by Prime Minister Hun Manet’s cabinet on Friday, according to government spokesperson Pen Bona.

According to a government statement, the measure calls for “the prosecution of any individual” who rejects or condones atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.

The bill’s definition of atrocities includes genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, which a UN-backed court prosecuted top Khmer Rouge leaders for nine years ago.

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Under the seven-article bill, people who “deny the truth of the bitter past” will be jailed between one to five years and could face fines of $2,500 (10 million riel) to $125,000.

The draft bill, which comes months before the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in mid-April, will be sent to parliament soon for approval, Pen Bona said.

It was made at the request of influential former leader Hun Sen who in May claimed that some politicians still refused to recognise the Khmer Rouge’s genocide and called on the government to punish them by law.

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The law would replace a similar bill, also initiated by Hun Sen and enacted in 2013, that bans statements denying crimes by the communist Khmer Rouge and carries a sentence of up to two years in jail.

Rights groups have accused Hun Sen – who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades – of using the legal system to crush  opposition.

Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge cadre, stepped down in 2023 and handed the premiership to his eldest son, Hun Manet.

A UN-backed tribunal found two top Khmer Rouge leaders guilty of genocide in a landmark ruling in 2018.