Il Nuovo Postiglione - Cambodia approves draft law punishing Khmer Rouge genocide denial

The ultra-Maoist movement -- led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot -- wiped out about two million people through starvation, torture, forced labour, and mass executions during its 1975-79 rule.

The draft law -- which aims to prevent a repeat of the Khmer Rouge's crimes and to provide justice for victims -- was approved during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Manet on Friday, government spokesman Pen Bona told AFP.

The bill stipulates "the prosecution of any individual" who denies or condones the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge, according to a government statement.

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.

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.

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.

T.Barbieri--INP