Seng Theary, executive director of the Center for Social Develop, is among the first to file a civil suit against the Khmer Rouge, the activist said Thursday.
The suit, filed against Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea for the death of her mother, father, uncle, aunts and other relatives, has been received by the tribunal, Seng Theary said, speaking Thursday as a guest on "Hello VOA."
It was an individual complaint to "demand justice and honor," she said, but it could just as well as be for 1.7 million others who were killed during the regime.
"I want the Khmer Rouge leaders to recognize their wrongdoings, what they have committed, leading our country in its decent into Hell," she said.
Many ex-Khmer Rouge leaders have made excuses and denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, she said. "That's hard to believe."
Victims can participate in the Khmer Rouge tribunal in three ways, she said: as a witness, as a plaintiff for a criminal case and as a party to a civil suit.
A witness will only give testimony to the courts, Seng Theary said, but are not party to criminal or civil cases.