Guatemala's highest court on Monday overturned a genocide conviction against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt and reset his trial back to when a dispute broke out a month ago over who should hear the case.

Rios Montt, 86, was found guilty on May 10 of overseeing the killings by the armed forces of at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil population during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

However, in a ruling on Monday, the country's Constitutional Court ordered that all the proceedings be voided going back to April 19, when one of the presiding judges suspended the trial because of a dispute with another judge over who should hear it.

It was unclear when the trial might restart.

Rios Montt's conviction was hailed as a landmark for justice in the Central American nation, where as many as 250,000 people were killed in a bloody civil war lasting from 1960 to 1996.

When Rios Montt was in power, his government launched a fierce offensive in which soldiers raped, tortured and killed tens of thousands of Maya villagers suspected of helping Marxist rebels. Thousands more were forced into exile or had to join paramilitary forces fighting the insurgents.

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After he was sentenced, a court ordered the government to apologize for atrocities committed against indigenous people.

Ana Caba, an ethnic Ixil who survived the civil war after fleeing her home, was stunned by the Constitutional Court's decision.

"I'm distressed," she told Reuters. "I don't know what's happening. That's how this country is. The powerful people do what they want and we poor and indigenous are devalued. We don't get justice. Justice means nothing for us."

Irregularities
At the time the row broke out between the judges, a number of appeals were lodged with the Constitutional Court over alleged irregularities in the handling of the case.

One related to Francisco Garcia, one of Rios Montt's defense lawyers, who had just won an appeal to be readmitted to the case. Garcia was thrown out when the trial began for repeatedly trying to have two of the three presiding judges recused.

When Garcia was reinstated, he tried to recuse the judges again, but they rejected his bid and proceeded with the case.

The Constitutional Court said the judges should have suspended the trial until the recusal attempt had been officially resolved. A spokesman for the court could not say how the recusal bid needed to be formally settled.

Diana Cameros, a psychologist who attended the Rios Montt trial, attacked the Constitutional Court over its ruling.

"It's absurd," she told Reuters. "It said in a previous ruling that the process couldn't be wound back to stages that had already concluded, and now it's saying something that contradicts what they said before."

The court said it had given the judges who sentenced Rios Montt 24 hours to comply with its order.

After spending a couple of nights in prison, Rios Montt was transferred to a hospital last week for treatment for respiratory and prostate problems.

He came to power in a bloodless coup on March 23, 1982, and ruled for 17 months during one of the most brutal phases of the conflict until he was toppled in August 1983. He has repeatedly denied the charges against him.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan supported Rios Montt's government and said in late 1982 that the dictator was getting a "bum rap" from rights groups for his military campaign against left-wing guerrillas during the Cold War.

Reagan also once called Rios Montt "a man of great personal integrity."

The retired general returned to politics after his fall from power and later unsuccessfully ran for president. For years, he avoided prosecution because he had immunity as a congressman. That ended when he left Congress in 2012.

Until August 2011, when four Guatemalan soldiers received 6,060-year prison sentences for mass killings in the northern village of Dos Erres in 1982, no convictions had been handed down for massacres carried out during the war.

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LONDON — It is a court case that could reverberate round the world: Three elderly Kenyans are suing the U.K. government for torture inflicted by the colonial regime during the African country's struggle for independence.

If the Kenyans win — a ruling on the case is expected later this week — claims from others involved in the so-called Mau Mau uprising are highly likely and experts say it could set a precedent that would help victims of abuses in other countries that were once part of the British Empire. 

The court case could also attract the attention of President Barack Obama. In his book “Dreams From My Father,” Obama said he was told by his step-grandmother Sarah that his Kenyan grandfather Onyango was held for six months in a detention camp by the colonial authorities. “When he returned … he was very thin and dirty. He had difficulty walking, and his head was full of lice,” Obama wrote.

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Compared to his compatriots seeking compensation from the U.K., Onyango Obama got off lightly: In court, the two men and a woman described being savagely beaten, castrated, sexually assaulted, and witnessing killings during British rule in the 1950s.

Such stories are not confined to the former British Empire.

France, for example, has refused to apologize for its actions as former colony Algeria struggled for independence in the 1950s and early 1960s, with former president Nicolas Sarkozy saying “repentance” had “no place in our relations.”

And Germany only finally said sorry for a particularly extreme case of genocide by German forces in Namibia on the 100th anniversary of the massacre of tens of thousands of Herero people. Germany does pay aid to Namibia, but has to date refused to compensate the Herero directly.

The United States also has a colonial past with Spain handing over Philippines in 1898. Some, as noted by Filipino academic E. San Juan Jr., say the resulting Philippine-American War saw the deaths of about 1.4 million Filipinos while others put the toll in the hundreds of thousands. Despite this, Philippines and the U.S. have close relations and many Filipinos have positive feelings toward Americans.

More international coverage from NBC News

In contrast, ill will still exists in Kenya over British colonial rule, but in July, there was a potential breakthrough when the U.K. government admitted for the first time that civilians were tortured during the Mau Mau revolt.

Guy Mansfield, a lawyer representing Britain, told the three Kenyan claimants — Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambuga Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara – that he did "not want to dispute the fact that terrible things happened to you.”

However, the U.K. is still arguing that the events of the uprising took place too long ago to enable a fair trial to be held. The defense team expects a judge to rule on this argument this week. A decision against the government would leave it with few legal options. 

'Children were killed'
Previously the U.K. claimed that the victims should sue Kenya, rather than the U.K., an argument the Kenyans’ lawyer, Martyn Day, dismissed as "nonsense" and that was rejected by a judge in a previous ruling. 

In July, Nyingi, 84, told the U.K.’s High Court through an interpreter that he was detained for nine years during which he was beaten unconscious as 11 others were battered to death, according to a report by the Press Association news service.

"In the years before independence people were beaten, their land was stolen, women were raped, men were castrated and their children were killed,” Nyingi  said.

Nzili, 85, said he was abducted by Mau Mau fighters, but later escaped only to be arrested by the colonial authorities, who castrated him. His treatment left him “completely destroyed and without hope.”

Mara, 73, told the court she was beaten with sticks and sexually assaulted with a glass bottle containing hot water after she gave food to Mau Mau members.

Day, the lawyer, told NBCNews.com that “without any question … the [U.K.] government is very worried about the implications of any decision” in the case.

From ITV News: Tutu urges UK to show compassion to Kenyan torture victims

In addition to “many, many more people in Kenya,” he said he thought “significant numbers of groups of people the former British Empire who would be looking at that judgment.”

He said a victory for the Kenyans could help the victims of abuses in countries like Malaysia — the source of recent legal action against the U.K. -- Cyprus and possibly India claim compensation.

Day said some people in Britain “feel perhaps we are superior to the Germans and Japanese and countries where atrocities have occurred, but actually there is always a significant proportion of people who are pretty grim.”

France’s ‘horrific crimes’
The years leading up to independence for Algeria saw one of the world’s most violent and bitter conflicts to end colonial rule, which was the subject of a critically acclaimed film, “Battle of Algiers.” 

So much so, that when Algeria celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence on July 5 this year, France was pointedly not invited.

During the 1954-1962 revolt, a million lives were lost and people were murdered, raped and tortured by both sides; the newly independent Algeria was left economically devastated.

“The horrific crimes committed by the French during colonization are entrenched in the memories of Algerians,” explained Farouk Ksentini, president of Algeria’s National Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. “We suffered like animals from humiliation, exploitation, expropriation and slaughter … France must repent for its crimes.”

Ksentini said he was aware of only one Algerian who had been financially compensated by France over the conflict. In 2001, a French court awarded an invalidity pension to Mohamed Garne, conceived after French soldiers raped his mother.

To date, no French president has said sorry. During an official visit in 2007, Sarkozy told two Algerian newspapers he was in favor of “a recognition of the facts, [but] not for repentance which has a religious notion and no place in our relations state-to-state.”

The current President Francois Hollande may shift French policy; during his election campaign last year, he condemned colonization and declared, “The truth must be said.”

German extermination order
In Namibia in 1904, German General Adrian von Trotha gave an infamous order that “the Herero nation must now leave the country. If it refuses, I shall compel it to do so with the 'long tube' [cannon]. Any Herero found inside the German frontier, with or without a gun or cattle, will be executed. I shall spare neither women nor children."

The order was issued after a number of Herero rebelled and killed more than 100 German soldiers. There are different figures, but according to one estimate more than 60,000 people -- a significant proportion of the population that some put as high as 85 percent -- were dead within three years and thousands of Demara and Nama people were also killed.

Germany's return of Namibian skulls stokes anger

In 2004, Germany issued a formal apology. It also makes aid payments to Namibia, but has not directly paid compensation to the Herero.

Kuaima Riruaku, the paramount chief of the Herero and a politician in Namibia’s parliament, told NBC News that his people were still feeling the effects of the massacre.

“They destroyed the Herero as a people. They destroyed the culture and the manhood,” he said.

“We’ve lost a lot of things, our land and our property … our cattle and everything that was confiscated by the German government,” he said.

“Now we’re in the minority [in the Herero’s homeland]. We [would have been] the majority here if we didn’t fight the Germans,” he added.

Riruaku said for years Germany had ignored the Herero’s request for reparations.

“It’s taken more than 25 to 30 years, but now they seem to listen … there’s a little chance of hope,” he said. “Now we just talk to one another as human to human … they seem to understand why we are doing this.”

He said Germany should reach a financial settlement with the Herero “in order to … restore their humanity.”

Asked whether too much time had passed for such a deal, Riruaku said “that was the argument before … but the wound and the scar … are not yet forgotten.”

A spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry told NBC News that the German government “admits to the moral and historic responsibility towards Namibia, but the federal government does not allow for individual payments of compensation to representatives of the respective ethnic groups.”

'Kill everyone over 10'
Another infamous order in colonial history was issued by U.S. General Jake “Hell-Roaring” Smith, whose reported command to “Kill everyone over 10” during the Philippines-American War of 1899-1902 caused outrage in the United States. 

Retired Philippines Navy Commodore Rex Robles, 69, told NBC News that “the most prominent issue against the Americans in the Filipino-American War was the devastation of Samar, where hundreds were killed in cold blood by American troops in that province in retaliation for an ambush by Filipino rebels."

"The issue of the ‘Bells of Balangiga’ lingers to this day. The sacred church bells were taken by the Americans as war booty and never returned,” he added.

He said the Americans were “illegitimate conquerors,” adding that the Filipino forces had “fought valiantly against the usurpers, but were faced with superior force and logistics."

However, Robles said that Filipinos in general have a “positive attitude and feeling toward America.”

“This is fostered by the U.S. image as liberators from the Japanese occupation [during World War II], as well as the all-pervasive propaganda stemming from the American propaganda machine,” he said.

David Anderson, professor of African politics at England’s Oxford University, said propaganda was used by countries to cover their past crimes.

The U.K. was a world leader on torture and taught other countries how to do it, he said, but had created “a myth” that such behavior was not “British.”

He noted similarities between the language used to try to legalize torture by the British in Kenya – euphemisms such as “dilution” – and the George W. Bush administration’s insistence that waterboarding was not illegal, but simply “enhanced interrogation.”

What is torture? Ex-CIA official renews debate

“It’s very important to have a broader perspective. Torture has gone on, kind of everywhere and every time.” Anderson said. “It’s not a novelty, and in conflicts, bad stuff happens, so it should not surprise us.”

Anderson, who wrote a book called “Histories of the Hanged: Britain's Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire,” said right-leaning U.K. commentators tended to dismiss “people like me” for “bashing the empire.”

"That totally misunderstands the point and that is not what I’m doing," he said. "The fundamental for me is if torture happens, then we need to do something about it."

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Judges in The Hague acquitted Radovan Karadzic of one count of genocide on Thursday, but left 10 other war crimes and genocide charges standing against the former Bosnian Serb leader. 

Judges said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to support the genocide count covering mass killings, expulsions and persecution by Serb forces of Muslims and Croats from Bosnian towns early in the country's 1992-95 war.

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However, they rejected defense motions to dismiss 10 other charges that included the 1995 killing of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, Europe's worst massacre since World War II. 

Karadzic was leader of the Bosnian Serb government during the three-year war that raged in Bosnia from 1992 after the break-up of Yugoslavia. 

He was indicted for war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1995 and brought to The Hague 13 years later. His trial, under way since 2009, continues later this year with the opening of his defense case. 

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Updated at 4:57 a.m.: THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic went on trial for genocide on Wednesday, accused of leading the slaughter of 8,000 unarmed Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica in 1995, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

The ailing 70-year-old Mladic's appearance at the U.N. tribunal for the former Yugoslavia marks the end of a long wait for justice to survivors of the 1992-95 war that left some 100,000 people dead. He is accused of 11 charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Mladic, in a suit and tie and looking healthier than at previous pretrial hearings, gave a thumbs-up and clapped to supporters in the court's public gallery as the trial got under way. He occasionally wrote notes and showed no emotion as prosecutors began outlining his alleged crimes.

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One woman in the public gallery called him a "vulture" as prosecutors began two days of laying out their case for judges.

Presiding Judge Alphons Orie of the Netherlands said at the outset that the court was considering postponing the presentation of evidence, due to start May 29, due to "errors" by prosecutors in disclosing evidence to the defense. Prosecutor Dermot Groome said he would not oppose a "reasonable adjournment."

Mladic allegedly orchestrated not only the week-long massacre in Srebrenica, at the time a U.N. "safe haven", but also the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, in which more than 10,000 people were killed by snipers, machineguns and heavy artillery.

Munira Subasic, who lost 22 family members in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, was among a group of relatives of war dead heading into the courtroom to face Mladic.

The 65-year-old said she wanted to look him in the eye "and ask him if he will repent for what he did."

'Murderer!'
Mladic, who was arrested last May after 16 years on the run, has dismissed the charges as "monstrous" and says he is too ill to stand trial. The court entered a "not guilty" plea on his behalf.

The case has inevitably stirred up violent emotions in the Balkans. Survivors watching proceedings from the court gallery have shouted "Murderer!" and "Killer!" at a man nicknamed the "Butcher of Bosnia."

For his part, Mladic has been angry and defiant during pre-trial hearings, heckling the judge, shouting and interrupting the proceedings.

"The whole world knows who I am," he told a hearing last year. "I am General Ratko Mladic. I defended my people, my country ... now I am defending myself."

Mladic was in charge of the Bosnian Serb army when, over several days in July 1995, Serb fighters overran the Srebrenica enclave in eastern Bosnia, theoretically under the protection of Dutch U.N. peacekeepers.

Srebrenica: The story that will never end

Video footage shot at the time showed Mladic mingling with Muslim prisoners.

Shortly afterwards, the men and boys were separated from the women, stripped of identification, and shot.

The dead were bulldozed into mass graves, then later dug up with excavators and hauled away in trucks to be better hidden from the world, in dozens of remote mass graves.

Prosecutors say Mladic was part of a "joint criminal enterprise to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by killing the men and boys ... and forcibly removing the women, young children and some elderly men".

Mladic is also held responsible for the siege and bombardment of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, which prosecutors said was intended to "spread terror among the civilian population."

The horrors of the siege, together with the Srebrenica massacre, eventually galvanized world opinion in support of the campaign of Western airstrikes on Bosnian Serb targets that brought the conflict to an end shortly after.

Mladic was indicted in 1995 along with Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serbs' political leader.

Yet both remained free in Serbia for more than a decade before being tracked down and sent to The Hague. Karadzic's trial is already under way.

Defense lawyers say they have not had enough time to review the huge case file prepared by prosecutors and asked for the trial to be postponed, but the request was denied.

411 witnesses
Serge Brammertz, the court's chief prosecutor, has dismissed Mladic's assertion that he is too frail to sit through a 200-hour prosecution case involving testimony from 411 witnesses.

His appearance in The Hague is testament to the work of the tribunal, which has defied skeptics by managing, in the course of 19 years, to arrest all its 161 indictees.

But some victims still fear that Mladic, who has received physical therapy for a possible stroke, could escape judgment by dying in mid-trial.

Mladic's mentor, former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, the architect of the Balkan wars, died in detention in 2006, a few months before a verdict in his trial for genocide and other war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir all but declared war against his newly independent neighbor on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a "final lesson by force" after it occupied a disputed oil field.

South Sudan accused Bashir of planning "genocide" and said it would fight to protect its people.

Mounting violence since Sudan split into two countries last year has raised the prospect of two sovereign African states waging war against each other openly for the first time since Ethiopia fought newly independent Eritrea in 1998-2000.

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Both are poor countries - South Sudan is one of the poorest in the world - and the dispute between them has already halted nearly all the oil production that underpins both economies. 

South Sudan says Heglig oilfied reduced 'to rubble'

Appearing in medal-spangled military uniform at a large rally, Bashir danced side-to-side, waved his walking stick in the air and made blistering threats against the leadership of the South, which seceded last year after decades of civil war.

"These people don't understand, and we will give them the final lesson by force," the burly military ruler told the rally in El-Obeid, capital of the North Kordofan state. "We will not give them an inch of our country, and whoever extends his hand on Sudan, we will cut it off."

China, a major investor in the oil industry in both countries, expressed "serious concern" about the increase of tensions and called on both sides to stop fighting, "maintain calm and exercise maximum restraint".

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said South Sudan's seizure of the oil field was an "illegal act" and called on both countries to stop fighting.

Bashir: South Sudan rulers are 'insects'
South Sudan separated from the rest of Sudan with Bashir's blessing last July under the terms of a 2005 peace deal. But since then violence has steadily escalated, fuelled by territorial disputes, ethnic animosity and quarrels over oil.

Birthday wish: 'Lost boys' pin hopes on independent South Sudan

Last week, South Sudan seized Heglig, a disputed oilfield near the border between the two countries, claiming it as its rightful territory and saying it would only withdraw if the United Nations deployed a neutral force there.

Sudan's armed forces spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid said by phone the army was now fighting "inside Heglig."

South Sudan's army (SPLA) said it had repulsed a large attack on Heglig on Wednesday evening, stopping Sudan's forces about 18 miles from the territory.

"The SPLA maintained its position," spokesman Philip Aguer said. He also accused Sudan of launching another attack in the border regions of South Sudan's Western Bahr al-Ghazal state.

In a sign of the conflict widening, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - considered the most militarily potent of the rebel factions in Sudan's western Darfur region - claimed it had launched an assault on the al-Kharsana oil region near Heglig.

PhotoBlog: Last few licks of paint as South Sudan preps for independence

"We are surrounding the Sudanese army in the main military base in al-Kharsana," JEM spokesman Gibreel Adam Bilal said by phone. Heglig is hundreds of km away from JEM's bases in Darfur but the group has fought in the Kordofan region in the past. 

The Sudanese army spokesman, Khalid, denied JEM's statement, saying there was no fighting in the al-Kharsana area. 

Limited access for independent journalists to Sudan's remote conflict zones makes it difficult to confirm the often contradictory claims issued by all sides. 

African states have often waged war on each other's territory, but it is extremely rare for them to talk openly of fighting against government forces of sovereign neighbors.

Bashir's address to the rally on Thursday followed a fiery speech to party supporters on Wednesday, when he vowed to "liberate" South Sudan from its ruling party, which he repeatedly referred to as "insects", in a play on its Arabic name.

South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin responded on Thursday with outrage.

"Mr. President, we are no insects and if you are launching your genocide activities to the Republic of South Sudan to kill the people of South Sudan .... we can assure you we will protect the lives of our citizens."

However, he also said South Sudan was willing to resume talks immediately on all outstanding issues.

"The Republic of South Sudan is not in a state of war, nor is it interested in war with Sudan," he said.

In both speeches, Bashir vowed to retake the Heglig oilfield, which he said was part of Sudan's Kordofan region. But he also said that alone would not end the conflict.

"Heglig is not the end, but the beginning," he said in Thursday's speech.

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Another international judge at Cambodia’s court tasked with trying Khmer Rouge for their roles in the 1970s genocide has resigned over an ongoing rift with his Cambodian counterpart about how many former members of the regime will stand trial.

International Reserve Co-Investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet said Monday he will step down May 4. He is the second international judge to leave the court in less than one year over disagreements with Cambodian counterparts about the scope of the United Nations-backed tribunal.

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“In view of the victims’ right to have investigations conducted in a proper manner and despite his (Kasper-Ansermet) determination to do so … the present circumstances no longer allow him to properly and freely perform his duties,” he said in a statement.

The tribunal, a hybrid of international and Cambodian judges, has seemingly been mired in internal tussles since it began operations in 2007, following a decade of halting negotiations between the government and the U.N. over the court's structure and functioning.

Kasper-Ansermet said his authority to investigate what is known as cases 003/004 – or the investigation of five unnamed suspects – has been “constantly contested” by National Co-Investigating Judge You Bunleng. At a recent meeting with him, You Bunleng “refused” to discuss the cases and issued a “written order” that he stop.

“Judge You Bunleng’s active opposition to investigations into cases 003 and 004 has led to a dysfunctional situation within the ECCC (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia). A description of the situation will be published,” Kasper-Ansermet said, adding that he had opened further internal queries for “interference with the administration of justice.”

Under the Khmer Rouge, nearly one quarter of the country’s population – or at least 1.7 million people – died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

The ultra-Maoist group strived to create an agrarian utopia (and called their effort a return to “Year Zero”), forcing city dwellers to rural areas to work on large farms, destroying money, shuttering schools and prohibiting religious worship in the predominantly Buddhist country. Intellectuals, or those with an education, were often deemed their enemies and targeted for execution.

The investigation of cases 003/004 has been troubled since it began in 2009, with allegations of political interference by the Cambodian government and a lack of judicial independence.

An international judge tasked to work on that investigation -- Siegfried Blunk -- resigned last year after government ministers made statements about the court not pursuing more trials following the completion of those of four of the regime’s top surviving leaders. Those trials are ongoing.

Kasper-Ansermet –- who said he has been appointed under court rules to replace Blunk, though You Bunleng disputes that -- said in early February that he would order the judicial investigation into case 003 to resume. That case was closed last April, sparking an outcry over how far the tribunal's examination of the regime would go.

He has issued a number of decisions in those cases, informed the suspects of their rights, and will conduct interviews with civil parties starting March 19.  

You Bunleng responded to Kasper-Anserment’s criticism in February, saying he had “ill intentions” for issuing the statement without his knowledge and claimed he was trying “to confuse public opinion” over his alleged opposition to further investigations. He also noted that the Swiss judge was not authorized to undertake any procedural actions while no one has been named to the post of International Co-Investigating Judge.

Former Khmer Rouge jailer's sentence increased to life

One former Khmer Rouge official has been tried, convicted and sentenced by the court: Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, a prison chief who oversaw a torture center where at least 12,000 people died. He received a life sentence.

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Updated 1:00 p.m. ET Friday:  The court’s National Co-Investigating Judge, You Bunleng, responded on Friday to criticisms lodged against him by his counterpart, International Reserve Co-Investigating Judge Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet. The Cambodian judge said Kasper-Ansermet had ill intentions for issuing the statement without his knowledge, claimed he was trying “to confuse public opinion” over his alleged opposition to further investigations, and noted that the Swiss judge was not authorized to undertake any procedural actions while no one has been named to the post of International Co-Investigating Judge.

A judge at Cambodia's genocide court said Thursday that he will reverse a decision to end a controversial investigation into the role of more Khmer Rouge leaders in the 1970s "killing fields" regime that left nearly two million people dead, amid claims by critics that the government had exerted pressure to stop further queries.

The investigation of five unnamed suspects -- covered by what is known as cases 003/004 -- has been troubled since it began in 2009, with allegations of political interference by the Cambodian government and a lack of judicial independence.

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An international judge tasked to work on that investigation resigned last year after government ministers made statements about the court not pursuing more trials following the completion of those of four of the regime’s top surviving leaders. Those trials are ongoing.

The court's press office released a statement from another international judge, Laurent Kasper-Ansermet of Switzerland, early Thursday stating that he would order the judicial investigation into case 003 to resume. That case was closed last April, sparking an outcry over how deep the tribunal's examination of the 1975-1979 regime would go.

Kasper-Ansermet's bid to reopen the investigation was the "fresh breath of U.N. air we have been demanding," Theary Seng, a Khmer Rouge survivor and an advocate for victims, wrote to msnbc.com. She noted his "unexpected assertiveness regarding his pursuit of the political(ly) controversial cases 003/4," which she alleged were "expressly blocked by the government."

"The U.N. and the Cambodian government are heading for a showdown because of the unexpected flexing of muscles by the U.N. vis-a-vis the Cambodian government," she added.

Kasper-Ansermet's statement cast a light on the inner workings of the tribunal, which has seemingly been mired in internal tussles since it began operations in 2007, following a decade of halting negotiations between the government and the U.N. over the court's structure and functioning. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is a hybrid of international and Cambodian judges.

The statement detailed how Kasper-Ansermet's attempts to make submissions in the disputed cases were rebuffed by his Cambodian counterpart, who said the Swiss judge had not been officially appointed to replace the one who resigned last year, and by the pre-trial chamber, which said he did not have the qualifications to assume the post.

It also noted that the chamber failed to notify the judge of its decision on the submissions, raising "serious concerns about the lack of impartiality" of its president, the statement said, and called for him to step down from any proceedings related to case 003/004.

Clair Duffy, Khmer Rouge Tribunal Monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, said the resumption of the case was an "important development" for victims.

"The premature closure of the 003 investigation was particularly worrying because it came against the background of opposition to further investigations from the Cambodian government," Duffy wrote to msnbc.com. "The proper handling of these two cases still under investigation (cases 003 and 004) will be a litmus test of the court's ability to meet the basic standards of international law that it was set up to achieve, in order to bring justice for victims of the Khmer Rouge, and to promote future adherence to the rule of law in Cambodia."

Under the Khmer Rouge, nearly one quarter of the country’s population – or at least 1.7 million people – died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

The ultra-Maoist group strived to create an agrarian utopia (and called their effort a return to “Year Zero”), forcing city dwellers to rural areas to work on large farms, destroying money, shuttering schools and prohibiting religious worship in the predominantly Buddhist country. Intellectuals, or those with an education, were often deemed their enemies and targeted for execution.

Intensifying border skirmishes with neighboring Vietnam led the Vietnamese to invade Cambodia and thereby end Khmer Rouge rule.

The decision comes a week after the tribunal rejected an appeal for acquittal by Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, a prison chief who oversaw a torture center where at least 12,000 people died. The court instead increased his sentence from 19 years to life.

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