now, lars olson is a spokesperson for the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia. that's what it's called, which just handed down the verdict. and he joins us now live from phnom penh. so thank you so much for talking with us. a lot of people looking at this saying it's been nearly 40 years, hasn't it, after all. why has it taken so long to bring these leaders to justice? >> well, we have to remember that even if these men were removed from power in 1979, they continued with remember aed resistance all the way up until 1999 when the last leaders were captured. so actually, almost until the end, which it was almost impossible to prosecute these leaders. then it took time for the u.n. and the cambodian governments to agree on a way forward how to set up court proceedings to deal with the atrocities committed during the '70s. so the court started its work in 2007 when we arrested chea and samphan and started an investigation against them. and that's kind of the time frame from where the courts commenced. and in these cases which involves the most serious international