A livefeed video grab shows Chin Meth, a Khmer Rouge survivorThursday, July 09, 2009
By Patrick Falby
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — A woman who said she survived the Khmer Rouge's main torture centre told Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court Thursday that one of her brothers was forced to kill their father at the prison.
Nam Mon, 48, was testifying at the trial of prison chief Duch, who is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of around 15,000 people who passed through Tuol Sleng prison during the regime's terrifying 1975-1979 rule.
Nam Mon told the court her two elder brothers were guards at the notorious jail, while she initially lived and worked there as a medic before being interrogated herself.
"My first brother, Nuon, killed my father and later on he was executed," Nam Mon said. "They accused him of hesitating to kill my father."
Recognised as a civil claimant in the case against Duch, Nam Mon was revealing her story in public for the first time, said her lawyer Silke Studzinsky.
However, judges have cast doubt on the authenticity of several civil claimants who have this week testified that they were at Tuol Sleng, castigating their lawyers for not being sufficiently prepared.
Nam Mon described to the court how her father was brought into the prison blindfolded, before being stripped, tortured and killed, and said the rest of her family was later rounded up and executed.
"My mother also died at Tuol Sleng with my younger brother but they died at different times," she said, adding she was then interrogated there for three months in 1978.
"During my interrogations I was not beaten with a stick, but they tightened the shackles on my ankles," Nam Mon told the court.
She then described being transferred to the nearby S-24 "re-education centre" where she was forced to dig graves for the corpses of children, adding she was freed by invading Vietnamese troops after being sent to another jail.
She told the court that she had not been able to find her prison mugshot, but had discovered all the photos of her family members who were executed at Tuol Sleng.
The 66-year-old Duch, real name Kaing Guek Eav, begged for forgiveness from victims near the start of his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity after accepting responsibility for his role overseeing the jail.
But he has consistently rejected claims by prosecutors that he held a central leadership role in the Khmer Rouge, and says he never personally executed anyone.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia. Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation, overwork or torture.
Four other former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in detention and are expected to face trial next year.
Nam Mon, 48, was testifying at the trial of prison chief Duch, who is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of around 15,000 people who passed through Tuol Sleng prison during the regime's terrifying 1975-1979 rule.
Nam Mon told the court her two elder brothers were guards at the notorious jail, while she initially lived and worked there as a medic before being interrogated herself.
"My first brother, Nuon, killed my father and later on he was executed," Nam Mon said. "They accused him of hesitating to kill my father."
Recognised as a civil claimant in the case against Duch, Nam Mon was revealing her story in public for the first time, said her lawyer Silke Studzinsky.
However, judges have cast doubt on the authenticity of several civil claimants who have this week testified that they were at Tuol Sleng, castigating their lawyers for not being sufficiently prepared.
Nam Mon described to the court how her father was brought into the prison blindfolded, before being stripped, tortured and killed, and said the rest of her family was later rounded up and executed.
"My mother also died at Tuol Sleng with my younger brother but they died at different times," she said, adding she was then interrogated there for three months in 1978.
"During my interrogations I was not beaten with a stick, but they tightened the shackles on my ankles," Nam Mon told the court.
She then described being transferred to the nearby S-24 "re-education centre" where she was forced to dig graves for the corpses of children, adding she was freed by invading Vietnamese troops after being sent to another jail.
She told the court that she had not been able to find her prison mugshot, but had discovered all the photos of her family members who were executed at Tuol Sleng.
The 66-year-old Duch, real name Kaing Guek Eav, begged for forgiveness from victims near the start of his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity after accepting responsibility for his role overseeing the jail.
But he has consistently rejected claims by prosecutors that he held a central leadership role in the Khmer Rouge, and says he never personally executed anyone.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia. Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation, overwork or torture.
Four other former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in detention and are expected to face trial next year.
7 comments:
this is what we call blood screeming, skill calling. very ignorant people.
We should blame the king that he love the communist to death,forget the disaster of outcome communist picture or have been used by Vietnam for their success war business.
12:59AM I think you did not face with the khmer rouge situation so you can't judge to those people .Because at that time was live and death ways to choose.
Why blame da king sihanouk's foolish and arrogant attitude?
3;36AM
I do not curse you back because ,you do not know Sihaknuk is the khmer rouge creator and he allowed Viet cong to hide in Cambodia every where till the Vietcong every where couldn't even tell them to leave then his khmer rouge soldier try to kick the Viet but unfortunate the Viet smarter than Sihaknuk then the Viet combine with khmer rouge cause the death of Cambodian more than two million people.
Sihaknuk hmer rouge creator=>>Sihaknuk allowed Viet to hide in Cambodia ==>> Cambodian people lost the live because those two factors,who is the problem??
But was been the khmer rouge soldier.The khmer rouge soldiers killed lots of khmer.
Khmers praise Gratittude which is part of buddhism.
To enslave khmer, viet found a better way to control.Appears that viet saved khmer from killing one another in 1979. Admitted that a number of viet soldiers died over that invasion. Much of assetts had collected by KR were quickly taken to vietnam,most done after midnight. I was there when these committed.
way back, slogan was propagandaed that WHITE LITTLE KING will throne three countries. Plan is almost succeeded.
khmers please stop killing and abuse your own race.
Kaun khmer
As early as 1965, prince Sihanouk
quietly tolerated small VC/NVA Camp
inside the Cambodia border.
Because Cambodia was internationally
regarded as the neutral, both north
and south Vietnam were supposed to
respect its borders.
But the communist gamble that they
could take advantage of Sihanouk's
military weakness and hide in Cambodia forest a long the border .
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