With as many war criminals as there are running loose in the world today it is easy to lose sight of the ones that have been out of power for decades.
But there is no statute of limitations on genocide. Even the Khmer Rouge, whose reign of terror in Cambodia in the mid 1970s killed millions, must face justice eventually.
Cambodia had been reluctant for many years to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to trial, wishing instead to not bring up and re-live the horrors of the past.
But going on now in Phnom Penh is a trial of the four most senior Khmer Rouge officials who are still alive.
The Khmer Rouge’s “Brother No 2” Nuon Chea, Defence Minister Ieng Sary, nominal head of state Khieu Samphan and Social Action Minister Ieng Thirith all stand accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva convention and crimes under the 1956 Penal Code.
But there is a problem.
It has been about 35 years since the Khmer Rouge were ousted from power. The murderers responsible for the deaths of millions are today elderly and in frail health. So the court that is trying these monsters has decided to look for ways to speed along the process.
Public concern that the four defendants could die before the survivors of their brutal regime receive justice for any of these crimes was stoked last month when health expert John Campbell told a court hearing Ieng Thirith was no longer mentally fit for trial.
Clair Duffy, a trial monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, said breaking the charges up to speed up the process would lead to a greater chance that the accused would face some kind of justice, even if they died later on in the trial.
Justice demands that these four stand trial for their monstrous crimes. For Cambodia to truly be able to move on, there must be accountability for such horrors.
The wheels of justice indeed grind slowly. Let's just hope these Khmer Rouge don't get the chance to commit a final act against society by dying before they are made to answer for their crimes.