The pre-trial chamber of the tribunal courts has set a window for a hearing date to decide whether Kaing Khek Iev, the torture center chief better known by his revolutionary name Duch, can leave detention ahead of his trial for atrocity crimes.
The hearing will be between Nov. 15 and Feb. 17, 2008, when Duch's French lawyer, Francois Roux, "has free time," tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.
Duch was held by Cambodia's military courts from his arrest in 1999 through June this year, when he was turned over to the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
His lawyers have argued that Duch has been in prison in excess and should be freed ahead of his trial.