Ieng Sary, whose defection to the government in 1996 helped pave the way to peace and led to his royal pardon for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge, has not asked the government to help him out of detention, a government spokesman said Tuesday.

Ieng Sary, who has been living in Phnom Penh since 1999, has a tribunal-appointed Cambodian attorney and faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His wife, Ieng Thirith, has been charged with crimes against humanity.

"I believe that he is ready to face the court, and this is his business and his lawyer's business," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. "Ieng Sary did not ask the government to defend him."

Pen Sovan, the former prime minister under the Hanoi-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea, said Ieng Sary's hands were "stained with blood."

"He started the procedure of illicitly killing people [and] killing those who did not go along with his personality," Pen Sovan said.

Jailed ideologue Nuon Chea, meanwhile, officially submitted an appeals brief Monday requesting his pre-trial release.

Lawyer Son Arun said Nuon Chea's current detention was unlawful.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath confirmed receipt of the brief but did not confirm a date for a decision.