[JURIST] Cambodian students and Buddhist monks protested Tuesday in Phnom Penh, asking the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] to quickly begin trials against former leaders of the late-1970s Khmer Rouge communist regime [backgrounder] for crimes against humanity. Over 600 demonstrators took to the streets over concerns that the trials are moving too slowly and that many former Khmer Rouge leaders in UN custody could die before trials are actually held.

The Khmer Rouge are generally held responsible for the genocide of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians [PPU backgrounder] who died between 1975 and 1979. The ECCC was established by a 2001 Cambodian law [text as amended 2005, PDF] authorizing the investigation and trial of surviving Khmer Rouge officials, but to date, no top officials have faced trials. The first trials are expected in 2008. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.