Four jailed for Cambodia murders

Four former members of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge have been jailed for their part in the murder of a British mine-clearer and his interpreter.

Three of those convicted received prison term of 20 years, a fourth 10 years, while a fifth defendant was acquitted by the court in Phnom Penh.

Christopher Howes and Houn Hourth were working in north-west Cambodia when they were abducted and killed in 1996.

The trial is seen as a sign that Khmer Rouge figures no longer enjoy immunity.

The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia for a four-year period in the late 1970s.

Senior figure

Forced from power by a Vietnamese invasion, the Maoist guerrillas continued to battle government troops from strongholds in the north-west for two decades.

Mr Howes, from Backwell in Somerset, was leading a Mines Advisory Group operation near the city of Siem Reap when his team was abducted.

The kidnappers asked Mr Howes to return to his office to collect ransom money, but he refused to leave his team. Although more than 30 members of the team were released or escaped, Mr Howes and his interpreter were killed.

A team of British detectives said in May 1998 they had firm evidence the two were taken to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng and killed soon after the abduction.

Khmer Rouge members had been given amnesty under the deal which saw the organisation disband ten years ago.

One of those convicted is former senior Khmer Rouge commander Khem Nguon, who became a high-ranking officer in the Cambodian army after his defection.

Now he is a symbol that leading former Khmer Rouge figures are no longer immune from prosecution, the BBC's Guy De Launey reports from Phnom Penh.