By SETH MYDANS
The New York Times
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The first trial addressing the Khmer Rouge atrocities of the 1970s opened Tuesday with a vigorous plea on behalf of the judicial rights of the defendant — a man who knows a thing or two about the treatment of prisoners.
After opening formalities before five red-robed justices, a lawyer for the defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, raised a strong objection to the inclusion of a last-minute party to the case, arguing that it violated “the human rights of the accused.”
Duch (pronounced DOIK) — the first of five top Khmer Rouge figures to face trial — was the commandant of Tuol Sleng prison, where at least 14,000 people were tortured and sent to their deaths.
They were among 1.7 million people who died at the hands of the fanatical Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.
In Tuol Sleng, a prisoner was not only presumed guilty but also was tortured until he offered whatever was demanded — often an admission of simultaneous membership in the C.I.A., the K.G.B. and sometimes the Vietnamese security service.
It was a prison where Duch’s word was final and where an order like “kill them all” was a death sentence or “interrogate four persons, kill the rest” was one day’s assignment for his staff.
The issue on Tuesday was whether to add a rare child survivor, Norng Chan Phal, now 38, to a list of civil parties in the case although he had missed the filing deadline by two days.
The argument of Duch’s lawyer, François Roux, amounted to a passionate rationale for defending people accused of the most terrible crimes and of the primacy of legal principles in even the most emotionally charged cases. It was in effect an indictment of the methods and actions of the man he was defending.
In a judicial proceeding, Mr. Roux said, rules are sacrosanct, the final line of defense of impartial justice.
“We are defending a man and although this man has acknowledged responsibility, he is entitled to a fair trial,” he said. “The work we are doing is hard work but essential, and we can only do our work if we respect the rule of law, respect the rights of the accused and respect the principle of an adversarial proceeding.”
Duch, 66, a small man in a crisp blue shirt and a new pair of glasses, leaned forward from time to time and conferred earnestly with his lawyers, lifting his simultaneous-translation headphones from his ears.
“I repeat that we respect the victims,” Mr. Roux said. “We also owe respect to the accused and we also must respect the rule of law.”
The child survivor was just discovered and presented to the press on Monday, adding his name to a very short list of people who through chance or good fortune had evaded the death sentence that was the first step in the judicial process of Tuol Sleng.
The only other three known survivors who are still alive attended the hearing, along with hundreds of diplomats, journalists, human rights workers and victims who had joined the case as civil parties.
“I could not sleep last night,” said one of the survivors, Vann Nath, 62. “I was waiting for the sunrise so that I could see Duch in the dock.”
He added: “I think he is a very fortunate person, a very lucky person. Because when I was in jail I could get three spoons of porridge a day and both my legs were put in shackles.”
Despite the intensity of the moment, the trial, in an isolated military headquarters 25 kilometers from Phnom Penh, really does seem to be history in a bottle. Much of Cambodia seems oblivious.
Several people interviewed just down the road from the tribunal said they were not aware that a trial was under way, or what it was about, or even, among some younger people, what the Khmer Rouge years amounted to.
In an attempt to create an agrarian utopia, the Khmer Rouge regime caused the deaths of as many as one-fourth of the population through starvation, exhaustion and disease as well as torture and execution.
Four senior officials of the Khmer Rouge are in custody, waiting to follow Duch into court, perhaps next year. Their supreme leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
Asked if he know who Pol Pot was, a 25-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, Ieng Sok Heng, answered: “I’m young. I wasn’t born yet, so I’m not quite sure.”
After opening formalities before five red-robed justices, a lawyer for the defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, raised a strong objection to the inclusion of a last-minute party to the case, arguing that it violated “the human rights of the accused.”
Duch (pronounced DOIK) — the first of five top Khmer Rouge figures to face trial — was the commandant of Tuol Sleng prison, where at least 14,000 people were tortured and sent to their deaths.
They were among 1.7 million people who died at the hands of the fanatical Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.
In Tuol Sleng, a prisoner was not only presumed guilty but also was tortured until he offered whatever was demanded — often an admission of simultaneous membership in the C.I.A., the K.G.B. and sometimes the Vietnamese security service.
It was a prison where Duch’s word was final and where an order like “kill them all” was a death sentence or “interrogate four persons, kill the rest” was one day’s assignment for his staff.
The issue on Tuesday was whether to add a rare child survivor, Norng Chan Phal, now 38, to a list of civil parties in the case although he had missed the filing deadline by two days.
The argument of Duch’s lawyer, François Roux, amounted to a passionate rationale for defending people accused of the most terrible crimes and of the primacy of legal principles in even the most emotionally charged cases. It was in effect an indictment of the methods and actions of the man he was defending.
In a judicial proceeding, Mr. Roux said, rules are sacrosanct, the final line of defense of impartial justice.
“We are defending a man and although this man has acknowledged responsibility, he is entitled to a fair trial,” he said. “The work we are doing is hard work but essential, and we can only do our work if we respect the rule of law, respect the rights of the accused and respect the principle of an adversarial proceeding.”
Duch, 66, a small man in a crisp blue shirt and a new pair of glasses, leaned forward from time to time and conferred earnestly with his lawyers, lifting his simultaneous-translation headphones from his ears.
“I repeat that we respect the victims,” Mr. Roux said. “We also owe respect to the accused and we also must respect the rule of law.”
The child survivor was just discovered and presented to the press on Monday, adding his name to a very short list of people who through chance or good fortune had evaded the death sentence that was the first step in the judicial process of Tuol Sleng.
The only other three known survivors who are still alive attended the hearing, along with hundreds of diplomats, journalists, human rights workers and victims who had joined the case as civil parties.
“I could not sleep last night,” said one of the survivors, Vann Nath, 62. “I was waiting for the sunrise so that I could see Duch in the dock.”
He added: “I think he is a very fortunate person, a very lucky person. Because when I was in jail I could get three spoons of porridge a day and both my legs were put in shackles.”
Despite the intensity of the moment, the trial, in an isolated military headquarters 25 kilometers from Phnom Penh, really does seem to be history in a bottle. Much of Cambodia seems oblivious.
Several people interviewed just down the road from the tribunal said they were not aware that a trial was under way, or what it was about, or even, among some younger people, what the Khmer Rouge years amounted to.
In an attempt to create an agrarian utopia, the Khmer Rouge regime caused the deaths of as many as one-fourth of the population through starvation, exhaustion and disease as well as torture and execution.
Four senior officials of the Khmer Rouge are in custody, waiting to follow Duch into court, perhaps next year. Their supreme leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
Asked if he know who Pol Pot was, a 25-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, Ieng Sok Heng, answered: “I’m young. I wasn’t born yet, so I’m not quite sure.”
2 comments:
How does these stupid mother fuckers, defend lawyers, know of human right?
How about the lives of million of khmer who were tortured and brutally killed? Are they not human and don't have any right?
It's not fair to put Duch to stand trail as chief of S 21.
How about Ah Hor Namhong chief of B 32 or head of administration of Boeng Trabek ? He killed and tortured my families, And Ah Hor Namhong had killed and tortured as many Cambodians as Duch.
And how about all chief in the whole country?
all khmer victimes urge the court to put Ah Hor Namhong to stand trial too, otherwise, this court is serving bias between khmer rouge and Khmer vietcong-vietminh.
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