[JURIST] Cambodian judges in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] Friday denied corruption allegations made against them [press release] after a court in Phnom Penh agreed to hear a case [AFP report] against two of the judges alleged to have offered a portion of their salaries to the government as kickbacks in exchange for receiving their appointment to sit on the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal. The complaint was made by counsel defending Nuon Chea [JURIST news archive], a former Khmer Rouge [BBC backgrounder] leader set to stand trial in front of the tribunal. The judges insisted the allegations were baseless because there was no need for the kickbacks:

We would like to state that all the judges of this Court entered into service by decision of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, chaired by His Majesty the King of the Cambodia, who signed Royal Decree No. NS/RKT/0506/214 dated 7 May 2006, appointing all of us to work in this Court. Therefore, there is no reason for judges to cut their salaries to pay kickbacks to government officials, as alleged. We absolutely reject such an accusation.

[JURIST] The son of a former president of Liberia now on trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity was sentenced [DOJ press release] to a 97-year jail term in the US Friday by US District Court for the Southern District of Florida [official website] for committing torture in Liberia. Charles Arthur Emmanuel, son of Charles Taylor [JURIST news archive] was found guilty [JURIST report] by a jury in October on charges [JURIST report] that he was the head of a paramilitary group which tortured and killed opponents during the presidency of Emmanuel's father. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga handed down the sentence [Reuters report] to Emmanuel, a US citizen born in Boston. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Freidrich of the US Department of Justice Criminal Division Criminal Division said of the sentence:

The lengthy prison term handed down today justly reflects the horror and torture that Taylor Jr. visited upon his victims. This case was made in no small part by the courage of individual victims who had the mettle to come forward and speak the truth about what had been done to them . . . Our message to human rights violators, no matter where they are, remains the same: We will use the full reach of U.S. law, and every lawful resource at the disposal of our investigators and prosecutors, to hold you fully accountable for your crimes.