In light of the HISTORIC (!) start of MOST COMPLEX (sic!) trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 and again ANOTHER HISTORIC (!) START of this same MOST COMPLEX (sic!) on 21 Nov. 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 (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956 - sic!). 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
D. TREATMENT OF SPECIFIC GROUPS
Treatment of the Cham
Kroch Chhmar Security Centre, East Zone
768. Kroch Chhmar Security Centre was a district level security centre.3294 It was located close to Prek Ta Duong Village, Kroch Chhmar District, Kampong Cham Province.3295 Applying the CPK's system of identifying administrative boundaries, this prison was within Sector 21 of the East Zone. Kroch Chhmar Prison was approximately 15 metres long and 10 metres wide,3296 with two levels.3297 It was surrounded by a fence.3298 It was established in 1970 or in 197 13299 and was operational until at least 197 8.3300
772. There are varying accounts of the personnel at Kroch Chhmar Security Centre.3301 [REDACTED], the Sector 21 Security Chairman, visited Kroch Chhmar regularly, "every month or two".3302 A reporting structure existed to regulate communications from Kroch Chhmar Security Centre to the CPK upper echelon. The former interrogation team chief at Kroch Chhmar states that "confessions were transmitted to the [district] security chairman, who in turn would send them up to the regional level, and then they would go up to the level of the [East] zone".3303 A line of communication also existed back down from the zone authorities to the prison. Once a confession was transmitted up to zone level, the prisoner remained detained until a decision was communicated.3304 Some prisoners were released and some were killed.3305 This practice is in line with the March 1976 decision by the Standing Committee giving power to the zone level to smash enemies.3306
773. Estimations of how many prisoners Kroch Chhmar held vary: some witness speak of 30 to 403307 prisoners, others speak of 120 prisoners3308 or even several hundreds3309 at differing times. Most of the prisoners held at Kroch Chhmar Security Centre were Cham people from the villages of Kroch Chhmar District including Cham women and children. The arrest and detention of the Cham escalated after the Cham rebellions in 1975.3312 The people who were arrested were considered to be affiliated with the rebellions.3313 Cham were often arrested on Fridays, when the males worshipped at the Cham mosque.3314
774. Both former detainees and interrogators give evidence about the methods of interrogation used at Kroch Chhmar Security Centre. Three people would attend each interrogation "the interrogator, who was in charge and who posed the questions; and assistant interrogator; and a note taker".3315 After the third interrogation a final confession would be written, to be reported up the line of command.3316 During interrogation detainees would be seriously mistreated including by: beating; pulling out fingernails and toenails and pulling out teeth by the roots.3317 Initially, interrogations were conducted in open fields.3318 Later, the upper echelon ordered the interrogators to dig pits approximately two metres deep, and conduct the interrogation in those pits.3319
775. One witness, who lived close to the security centre, saw killings occur. He states that the prisoner would be blindfolded and sat down at the edge of a grave pit, then struck from behind with a hoe.3320 After the interrogation sites changed into the pit system, he states that he did not see any more executions but regularly saw cadre carrying bodies out of the pits to bury them in a bamboo grove along the banks of Prek Ta Duong Creek.3321 After 1979, he saw ten grave pits at that site.3322 Another witness states that corpses were buried at that
location.3323
Wat Au Trakuon Security Centre, Central (Old North) Zone
776. Wat Au Trakuon was the Kang Meas District Security Centre and execution site, situated in Sambaur Meas Village, Peam Chikang Subdistrict, Kang Meas District, Kampong Cham Province.3324 Applying the CPK's system of identifying administrative boundaries, this security centre was within Sector 41 of the Central (Old North) Zone.
777. The pagoda compound was approximately 170m by 200m and was bounded by a barbed wire fence. The area of three hectares immediately to the east of the compound was used as an execution and burial site for prisoners from the security centre.3325 It appears to have been established in 197 5 3326 or 197 63327 and operational at a minimum through 1977.
778. The chairmen of the security centre were [REDACTED]3328 and [REDACTED], who was a member of the Kang Meas District Committee.3329 Other witnesses identify [REDACTED] as being a member of the leadership of the security centre.3330 [REDACTED], who was the District Committee Secretary, and his wife [REDACTED], who was his Deputy Secretary were also involved with the security centre.3331
779. The detainees included new people, base people and Cham.3332 In around 1977, CPK cadre arrested all the Cham people throughout the Kang Meas District and took them to Wat Au Trakuon; done with the assistance of the "Long Sword Militia". One witness assisted the Long Sword Militia (a militia group created by cadre of the Southwest Zone),3333 to arrest all the Cham in Sambuor Meas (Ka) Village, Sambuor Meas (Kha) Village and Sach Sau Village in Kang Meas District.3334 This witness states that he and three other men assisted the militia group to arrest approximately 300 Cham men, women and children. After the arrests were complete, the militia group left the witness and his team to march the Cham prisoners to the security centre at Wat Au Trakuon where these Cham were all killed.3335 The witness states that these arrests and killings were conducted on the orders of the District Secretary.3336
780. This account is corroborated by two witnesses who state that in late 1976 or early 1977, all the Cham in Sach Sau Village, Kang Meas District were arrested and taken to Wat Au Trakuon. These witnesses did not see any killings but one witness was told by militia coming out of the pagoda that all the Cham were killed.3339 Another witness states that there were between 20 and 30 Cham from Sach Sau Village in his mobile unit, but in early 1977 they were all arrested by district security personnel from Au Trakuon and none are still
alive.3340
781. Another witness, who was a member of the Long Sword Militia, saw prisoners with their arms tied behind them being marched from Sambuor Meas Ka Village.3341 This witness states that all of the Cham in this village were targeted and arrested.3342 This is corroborated by a witness who states that all the Cham in Sambuor Meas were arrested, taken to Wat Au Trakuon and killed.3343
782. Another witness was personally involved in transporting over a thousand people by boat to Wat Au Trakuon. He states that these people, including 600 male adolescents and 400 female adolescents from the mobile units, were tied up, driven to a dock around 500 metres from Wat Au Trakuon, and then walked in groups to be killed at the site.3344 When this witness was asked whether these people included Cham, he replied that he "could not distinguish between the Cham and the Khmer" despite the fact that this witness is Cham himself.3345 When asked where the people were taken from to be killed at the site, this witness stated that in his village, all Cham people were killed.3346
783. It appears that, when arrested, Cham people were not detained at all, but killed immediately.3347 One witness states that the site did not have cells to detain prisoners, but that they were all "killed right away at night".3348 Other witnesses noted that the killings were done at night time3349 and a loudspeaker played revolutionary songs whilst the killings took place.3350 Witnesses heard the sounds of people being hit with clubs3351 and screaming coming
from the site. In 1979, witnesses saw corpses and grave pits at the site. One witness who saw grave pits in 1979 estimates that approximately 10,000 people had been killed there.3355 Another witness, who states that he had seen the prisoner lists for Wat Au Trakuon, estimates that approximately 30,000 people had been killed there.3356
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