Thursday, June 09, 2011

Leaked document casts doubt on impartiality of Khmer Rouge judges

Prosecutor and judges bought out by Hun Xen

Critics have accused Ms. Chea and the investigating judges, German Siegfried Blunk and Cambodian You Bunleng, of bowing to political pressure.

As the UN-backed tribunal prepares to bring more former Khmer Rouge leaders to trial, a confidential document obtained by the Monitor raises questions about the judges' independence.

June 8, 2011
By Jared Ferrie, Correspondent
Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Christian Science Monitor

As an international tribunal prepares to bring former Khmer Rouge leaders to trial beginning June 27, a confidential document obtained by The Christian Science Monitor raises questions about the UN-backed court’s ability to independently prosecute members of the brutal regime.

The 2008 court document reveals when tribunal prosecutors laid out their case against two former military commanders, they requested that the investigating judges detain them.

The level of detail in the document builds a strong case against the commanders, but the judges ignored the request to detain them and didn’t even summon the suspects for questioning during 20 months of investigation. The judges lack of response underscores concerns about their ability to carry out their duties. When they announced April 29 that they had concluded their investigation, many victims and observers were outraged, pointing out that investigators failed to question suspects and witnesses, or even inspect sites that could contain mass graves.

“[This] could in no way amount to an investigation in the eyes of any reasonable observer and is nothing short of a slap in the face to the millions of victims of the Khmer Rouge,” says Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR).

On Tuesday, the coinvestigating judges rejected a request by International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley to extend the investigation, sparking a new round of criticism from observers and watchdog groups.

“If the judges had ever been serious about carrying out their legal obligations, as well as their ethical ones, they would be looking for a way to conduct the investigations with thoroughness and precision,” says Clair Duffy of the Open Society Justice Initiative. “Instead they've availed themselves of every opportunity to shut them down.”
She adds that it was “particularly disturbing” that the judges treated allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity with such “flippancy.”

Two new suspects

About one quarter of Cambodia’s population died from starvation, forced labor, disease, or execution during the regime’s reign from 1975 until 1979. A Khmer Rouge prison chief was sentenced last year, while four top regime leaders are expected to begin trial in June for allegedly orchestrating policies that killed approximately 2 million people.

The 2008 document outlines the case against two additional suspects – Khmer Rouge Air Force Commander Sou Met, and Navy Commander Meas Mut. Prosecutors alleged they share responsibility for crimes including torture, killing, and the forced labor of tens of thousands of people.

“In particular, Sou Met and Meas Mut participated in a criminal plan to purge the RAK [Revolutionary Army of Kampuchia] of all undesirable elements, which resulted in at least thousands and quite probably tens of thousands of deaths,” the prosecutors alleged.

Resistance to proceeding with the trial

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has repeatedly expressed opposition to expanding the scope of prosecution, even telling UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he would not allow more cases to go forward. He has warned that pursuing further cases could spark political violence.

Echoing government rhetoric is Chea Leang, the Cambodian prosecutor in the hybrid tribunal, which assigns national and international staff to each role. She issued a statement on May 10 saying the case should be dropped.

Critics have accused Ms. Chea and the investigating judges, German Siegfried Blunk and Cambodian You Bunleng, of bowing to political pressure.

“Any appearance of independence at this institution is long since gone,” says Ou of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights.

The judges strongly denied such claims in a May 26 statement, saying they “have worked independently from outside interference, and will continue to resist all such attempts and are resolved to defend their independence against outside interference, wherever it may come from.”

Close observers of the court, however, have noted difficulties prosecutors have faced in bringing more than five Khmer Rouge leaders to trial.

The Cambodian government doesn’t want the cases to move forward, the Cambodian prosecutor is under pressure from that side, and the international community doesn’t want to pay for it,” said Ann Heindel, a legal advisor with the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge history.

Despite such resistance, prosecutors built cases against a further handful of suspects, including Sou and Meas, who are the only suspects named in the document.

The case that was built

In addition to their military roles, the court submission claims they were influential figures in the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), as the regime’s political entity was known, with Sou obtaining “one of the highest ranks within the CPK.” Both attended meetings where planned purges of the armed forces were discussed, prosecutors claimed.

Sou Met and Meas Mut were often present at these meetings and described their success in implementing the purge,” according to the document.

As navy commander, Meas also controlled Cambodia’s coast, where prosecutors allege that his sailors captured and killed Thai and Vietnamese fishermen, and abducted nationals of other countries including “at least four Westerners.”

Also according to the document, a commander who reported directly to Sou was responsible for overseeing the construction of a military airport that also functioned as a “re-education or tempering site” for soldiers suspected of harboring disloyalty toward the regime. Witnesses interviewed by the prosecution described horrific conditions at the construction site, where starving workers perished daily as a result of “strenuous and unrelenting labor.”

“Those who did not work to the satisfaction of the guards were often executed in the forest just west of the airfield site,” according to witness accounts.

The document details similar atrocities carried out at other sites. These included a Buddhist temple used as a detention center, and a rock quarry where prisoners included fishermen, navy sailors, and “people whose relatives had been members of the previous regime.”

Cayley has the option to seek permission from the court to appeal to the pretrial chamber, which has the power to order the investigating judges to reopen their investigation.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

អាខ្វាក់ហ៊ុន សែន ឈ្មោះដើមវាហ៊ុន ណាល់ ។ឪវា
ឈ្មោះ ហ៊ុន នៀង ជាចោរលួចគោនៅស្រុកក្រូច
ឆ្មារ ខេត្តកំពង់ចាម ម្ដាយវាឈ្មោះឌី ប៉ុកជា
អ្នកលក់នំអាកោរ។ អាហ៊ុន សែន ឈ្មោះដើម
វា គឺ ហ៊ុន ណាល់ ជាចោរដូចឪពុកវាដែរ។
អ្នកស្រុកក្រូចឆ្មារដេញប្រផាត់រត់ប្រផីងជង់និង
មែកត្របែកខ្វាក់ភ្នែកម្ខាង ហើយឆ្នាំ៧០រត់ចូល
ចូលព្រៃម៉ាគី ធ្វើជាខ្មែរក្រហម។
ជំនាន់ខ្មែរក្រហម គណៈភូមិ គណៈឃុំ និង
គណៈតំបន់មួយចំនួនជាចោរ ឬ មេចោរលួច
គោ ឬ ក្របី។
ដល់មកបានធ្វើនាយករដ្ធមន្ត្រី កើតជាចោរលក់
ជាតិ លួចជាតិ។ឪអាហ៊ុន សែន ជាចោរ អាហ៊ុន
សែនជាចោរ អស់ទាំងមុខមន្រ្តីក៏ជាចោរដូចដែរ។

Anonymous said...

The shit justice in Cambodia. Justice is very curropted.

Anonymous said...

The two Co-Investigating Judges (CIJs) should be disqualified to preserve the neutrality of the ECCC. Otherwise, the ECCC will simply be another TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE in the court of Cambodia!

Similarly, Chea Leng should be replaced because of her tie to Sok An and the Hun Xen regime.

Bandit (thief) You Bunleng and Herr Doktor Siegfried Blunk represent the most despicable judges in the world!

LU

Anonymous said...

They are all CPP judges and they are sucking all the money with no fair justice if Hun Sen is not included in Case 0002. Hun Sen is a silence mass murderer killing Khmer people more than the whole Khmer Rouge era.

Anonymous said...

Beside corruption in ECCC to obstruct this ECCC court process.

This political show trials has been handling by yuon Hanoi.

ECCC is 100 % a failure.

Anonymous said...

Corruption in ECCC is a political purpose to obstruct this ECCC court process and it has been working well for CPP as we all know that most Khmer judges and prosecutors are corrupted and under Hun Sen influence.

Corruption , drinking and womenizing for most male Khmer and foreign judges in ECCC has happened for many years since 2006.

Thank goodness at lease minorities foreign judges like Andrew Cayley has not bought out or under influences of corrupton , drinking anf womenizing etc..... .

Anonymous said...

This ECCC or Khmer Rouge Trials has failed long ago because of the following:

1. This ECCC in not independent.

2. Political interference from Hun Sen.

3. Everything this ECCC has done for over 3 years since 2006 has been very secretive and not fully informed the public (the victims ).

4. Big scandal of corruption to obstruct the court process ( ECCC ) of Case 002.

5. Detaining suspects beyond detaining time (over 3 years ) to avoid fully public hearing of Case 002.

If Case 002 undergo public hearing there will be many other countries involved one of them is Yuon Hanoi who formed Khmer People's Revolutionary Party and later on Known as CPP.

So the real killers of Khmer innocent people are still at large that to say CPP and yuon Hanoi the mastermind of killing field between 1975-1979 in Cambodia.

To back up my above comment all these answers are in Indochina Federation formed by late Ho Chi Minh in 1930. ( one of Khmer Issarak group led by Son Ngoc Minh later known as Khmer People Revolutionary ‘s Party in 1951 ( Khmer Viet Minh ) under leadership of youn Viet Minh fought against French colony between 1946-1954 till Geneva conference in 1954 ).

We are the victims of killing field between 1975-1979 must know the real Khmer history at least between 1930-2011 so we know when and how yuon Hanoi formed CPP.

So this ECCC is 100% a failure to find justice for 1.7 million of Khmer victims.

So Case 002 will face a lot of obstacles , not fully public hearing.

Anonymous said...

Those judges should be fired or prosecuted!

Especially Chea Leang, she is niece of sok an, a vietcong.

Anonymous said...

!!!!!!បទបញ្ជាសម្ងាត់!!!!!!
តាមព្រះហឫទ័យព្រះវរ្ម័នហ៊ុនសែនទី៧ ទ្រង់បានមានព្រះរាជបន្ទូលថា
ទ្រង់មិនចង់អោយមាន ការជុំនុំជុំរះ​លើសពីសំណុំរឿង ទី៣ទៀតឡើយ !ដូច្នេះ អ្នកប្រឆាំង គឺត្រូវសម្លាប់មួយពូជ !! នេះជារាជបញ្ជា ដែលចូលជាធរមានចាប់ពីពេលនេះតទៅ ហើយត្រូវតែអនុវត្តជាបន្ទាន់ !

Anonymous said...

to prosecute mid level staff would be fine if there was a lot of time and money. But there is not, so lets focus on the core mandate of the court, case 1 and 2.

Also, why is it highlighted yellow that 4 Westerners were killed? Is this somehow more significant than thousands of Khmer?

I am a Westerner but killing Westerners is not any worse than killing Khmer. I also pay taxes and the court has cost 150 million already so lets wrap it up decently and stop wasting money.

Anonymous said...

They waste a lot of time and money .. there will be no real justice for victims the way this court is running.