Closing Order of Case 002 against Senior KR Leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith

In light of the start of trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 of Case 002 against the surviving Khmer Rouge senior leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, KI Media is posting installations of the public document of the Closing Order of Case 002.  The Closing Order of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (Co-Prosecutors, Co-Lead Lawyers for all civil parties, Defense Lawyers) will be making their arguments before the Trial Chamber judges (one Cambodian President, 2 Cambodian Judges, 2 UN judges).  Up until now, the hearings involving these four surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders have been in the Pre-Trial Chamber over issues of pre-trial detention and jurisdictional issues.  Beginning in June 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive arguments over the criminal charges (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956).  Available in Khmer and French.  Contact the ECCC for a free copy.

CLOSING ORDER

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde, 15 September 2010

1^st January Dam Worksite¹⁴⁵⁶

Security

364. As Zone Secretary, Ke Pork was delegated the authority to make decisions with regard to executions in his Zone, and seems to have exercised such authority arbitrarily,¹⁵⁶³ at least as regards ordinary people, since it appears that he had to consult with higher Party authorities for the purges and killings of Party members and other cadre.¹⁵⁶⁴ Two witnesses report that measures were taken against people who had committed "moral offences" (although they were not necessarily killed).¹⁵⁶⁵

365. People knew they would be arrested if they did anything wrong or did not follow orders,¹⁵⁶⁶ such as "stealing" potatoes,¹⁵⁶⁷ not meeting work quotas, being sick, "lazy" or complaining.¹⁵⁶⁸

366. Most witnesses knew people who disappeared from the 1^s January Dam worksite or heard of disappearances.¹⁵⁶⁹ Disappearances happened mainly at night.¹⁵⁷⁰ Workers would be called to

attend meetings or to study, or were tied up and taken away into trucks or oxcarts, in effect disappearing.¹⁵⁷³ The reasons for the disappearances were not always known¹⁵⁷⁴ and people did not dare to ask since they were afraid of exposing themselves.¹⁵⁷⁵ Loudspeakers were played during the killings, in an attempt to cover the screams of the victims and thus to conceal the fate of persons disappeared.¹⁵⁷⁶ Many of the people who disappeared had perceived links to the former Khmer Republic regime,¹⁵⁷⁷ were Vietnamese or were people accused of having Vietnamese tendencies,¹⁵⁷⁸ being "new people",¹⁵⁷⁹ or being Cham.¹⁵⁸⁰ "Base people" were also amongst those who disappeared.¹⁵⁸¹

367. Some witnesses saw the arrests,¹⁵⁸² others heard of people being killed or sent to Security Centres.¹⁵⁸³ One witness saw one person being killed.¹⁵⁸⁴ The nearby Wat Baray Choan Dek Pagoda¹⁵⁸⁵ was known as a place where people were taken to be killed,¹⁵⁸⁶ but people were also killed in other locations.¹⁵⁸⁷

368. Forty five (45) civil parties were declared admissible with regards to the 1^st January Dam Worksite,¹⁵⁸⁸ since the alleged crimes described in the application were considered as being more likely than not to be true, pursuant to Internal Rule 23 bis (4). These civil parties have provided sufficient elements tending to establish prima facie personal harm as a direct consequence of the crimes committed at the 1^st January Dam Worksite.