One of the chief prosecutors of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal has resigned. Canadian Robert Petit insists he is quitting for family reasons, denying accusations that the real cause is a dispute with Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang over whether to pursue more suspects. Mr Petit has, however, expressed concern about fraud allegations which are threatening to derail the trial of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's top cadres.

Critics have accused Ms Chea of partiality and of being too much under the influence of Prime Minister Hun Sen to assume the neutral position required. The court admitted in January that a bid to go after more suspects was brushed aside by Ms Chea, who argued it would not benefit national reconciliation.

The Cambodian tribunal was set up in 2006 to try leading members of the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime, which killed some 1,7 million people as it emptied Cambodia's cities and enslaved the population on collective farms. The joint United Nations-Cambodian tribunal has been fraught with problems from the outset and some payments to the court have been delayed due to the claims of fraud. The Netherlands is one of the tribunal's main financiers.

So far, only one suspect has a trial hearing. Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch, is currently being tried for his role as the chief of the torture center S-21, where more than 14,000 prisoners died. Four others have been indicted, but have denied any knowledge of the atrocities.
 

photo by Rusty Stewart (Flickr)