The United Nations war crimes tribunal conducted an initial hearing on Wednesday in the latest case against two ailing former senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge regime, on charges of genocide.

Nuon Chea, 88, also known as "Brother Number 2", the chief ideologue of the former Communist Party of Kampuchea, and Khieu Samphan, 83, Democratic Kampuchea's former head of state, are among the few surviving senior leaders who were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people from starvation, overwork, torture, execution, and massacre from 1975 to 1979.

It is the second case for the two defendants, who have already been tried for alleged crimes against humanity related to the forced movement of the population from Phnom Penh in April 1975 and the alleged execution of Khmer Republic soldiers, according to a statement from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

The verdict in the first case will be pronounced on Aug 7. If found guilty in the first case, the two accused men could be sentenced to life in jail.

"The new trial brings additional charges of genocide of Muslim Cham and Vietnamese ethnic minorities, forced marriages and rape, mistreatment of Buddhists, and internal purges," Nil Nonn, the court's president, said during the initial hearing.

During the hearing, lawyers and judges will focus on which witnesses, civil parties, and experts will be called, the issue of proposals for civil party reparations to victims, and procedural legal objections, he said.

Khieu Samphan appeared in the courtroom during the initial hearing while Nuon Chea followed the proceedings by watching a video link from a holding cell due to his poor health.

Launched in 2006, the UN-backed tribunal is seeking justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979.

In its historic debut trial, the court in 2010 sentenced former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav to 30 years in prison - later increased to life on appeal - for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people.

Former Democratic Kampuchea foreign minister Ieng Sary died last year aged 87 while on trial, while his wife Ieng Thirith, the former social affairs minister of Democratic Kampuchea, was freed from jail in September 2012 after being ruled unfit for trial due to failing mental health.

(China Daily 07/31/2014 page11)