Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 28/05/2009: Alain Werner, civil party lawyer, on day 23 of Duch's trial at the ECCC (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)28-05-2009
By Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set
Following a pertinent review of torture and the practice of confessions, among others, with expert Craig Etcheson, the hearing of May 28th gave rise to an intense exchange between the international lawyer of Duch and the U.S. expert. During the whole afternoon, François Roux put forth his arguments with method, sketching the main characteristics of the Khmer Rouge regime and making sure to request Craig Etcheson's agreement on each new point raised: Democratic Kampuchea was a “regime of terror” that relied on the obligation of secrecy, an extremely centralised power, the systematic indoctrination of party members, a vertical communication system, a policy of spying and denunciation, a police State that practised mass purges... The lawyer thus pulled the expert towards his conclusions...
The practice of torture, an “oral tradition” that was encouraged
Returning to the meaning to give to the Khmer word “smashing”, which often featured in the Khmer Rouge terminology, expert Craig Etcheson, following the accused, recognised that it meant more than killing and was often translated by “crushing.” He explained this was in line with a long process aimed not only to smash physically but also psychologically. He said that the practice in S-21 was ideally adapted to the dehumanisation of the individual psyche. Alain Werner, co-lawyer for civil party group 1, then asked him if a torture policy was clearly formulated. “I have never seen an order or directive of the Central Committee that explicitly ordered torture,” the American replied, stressing, on the basis of various statements, that the Khmer Rouge explicitly leaders wanted great sufferings to be inflicted upon their enemies.
“Who designed these torture techniques?”, the lawyer asked him. “That is something we wondered about for a long time. Most of the time, they were developed through practice and were inherited from those used by the Vietnamese communists. It was like some kind of oral tradition.” For the expert, Duch was the main trainer in those techniques. “In security centres at the zone, sector and district levels, the range of torture practices seemed to be limited to beating, whipping, suffocation by plastic bag and electrocution. In S-21, there were supplementary techniques, like burning, ripping off fingernails, […], pouring salt on open wounds, using poisonous insects, various forms of water torture and hanging by the hands tied in the back until the shoulders dislocated, etc.”
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The practice of torture, an “oral tradition” that was encouraged
Returning to the meaning to give to the Khmer word “smashing”, which often featured in the Khmer Rouge terminology, expert Craig Etcheson, following the accused, recognised that it meant more than killing and was often translated by “crushing.” He explained this was in line with a long process aimed not only to smash physically but also psychologically. He said that the practice in S-21 was ideally adapted to the dehumanisation of the individual psyche. Alain Werner, co-lawyer for civil party group 1, then asked him if a torture policy was clearly formulated. “I have never seen an order or directive of the Central Committee that explicitly ordered torture,” the American replied, stressing, on the basis of various statements, that the Khmer Rouge explicitly leaders wanted great sufferings to be inflicted upon their enemies.
“Who designed these torture techniques?”, the lawyer asked him. “That is something we wondered about for a long time. Most of the time, they were developed through practice and were inherited from those used by the Vietnamese communists. It was like some kind of oral tradition.” For the expert, Duch was the main trainer in those techniques. “In security centres at the zone, sector and district levels, the range of torture practices seemed to be limited to beating, whipping, suffocation by plastic bag and electrocution. In S-21, there were supplementary techniques, like burning, ripping off fingernails, […], pouring salt on open wounds, using poisonous insects, various forms of water torture and hanging by the hands tied in the back until the shoulders dislocated, etc.”
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