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

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 (Indictment).  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 November 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956, etc., only the Phase I Movement in April 1975).  Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy. 

 

CLOSING ORDER

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde

15 September 2010

 

IX. ROLES OF THE CHARGED PERSONS

 

A. NUON CHEA

 

 Participation in the Common Purpose

 

 Knowledge and Implementation of this Policy at S-21

 

 

Involvement in the Process of Arrest and Transfer to S-21

958. Outside of Nuon Chea's involvement in decisions to arrest, described generally above, for S- 21 and other security centre and execution sites, Duch also states that he was aware of specific decisions made by Nuon Chea to arrest CPK cadres who were sent to S-21 including: Autonomous Sector Member Huot Ke alias Sophea;⁴⁰⁰⁶ Prum Phal alias Vin (Vorn Vet's wife and chairwoman at the Ministry of Industry hospital); Yang Kan alias Phoas⁴⁰⁰⁷ (the wife of Cheng An who was a subordinate of Vorn Vet and who chaired the Centre Industry Committee);⁴⁰⁰⁸ Kev Ly Thong Hout alis Thoeun (Duch brother in Law);⁴⁰⁰⁹ and Ri (from the Ministry of Industry).⁴⁰¹⁰ Duch understands that Nuon Chea was also involved in the arrest of members of his own family. He states "Nuon Chea also had Ruos Nhim arrested, who was his brother in law and secretary of the Northwest zone. I suppose he also decided to arrest his two nieces, Lach Dara and Lach Vary, as well as Sat, the husband of Lach Dara, and the husband of Lach Vary, whose name I have forgotten" ⁴⁰¹¹

959. As the direct supervisor of S-21, Nuon Chea was directly and personally responsible for the decision to arrest S-21 personnel. Duch explains that when close relatives of S-21 cadres were arrested they would be sent to S-24 for reeducation. He states that this decision could be made by the S-21 Committee. However, the decision to send S-21 personnel to S-21 "Son Sen, and later Nuon Chea, were competent".⁴⁰¹² He acknowledges that he was the only person who could report mistakes of S-21 personnel to superiors and states "If I remember well, there never were any exceptions: I always reported to the superiors and they always ordered the arrest of the persons implicated" ⁴⁰¹³ As an example, Duch provides details about the arrest of Nun Huy alias Huy Sre, the cadre in charge of S-24. He explains that after Huy Sre's telephone operator escaped in late 1978, Hor drafted a report that he forwarded with a recommendation to arrest "to the Standing Committee, and Nuon Chea ordered the arrest, the interrogation, and the execution of Huy Sre".⁴⁰¹⁴

960.            Nuon Chea was aware of and involved in the process of arrest and transfer to S-21 once the decision was made to arrest people. Numerous witnesses from across Cambodia explain that people would be called for meetings and study sessions in Phnom Penh, most of the time at Nuon Chea's request.⁴⁰¹⁵ In some cases meetings did take place, but in other instances people disappeared and would never come back.⁴⁰¹⁶ A witness states that when someone disappeared he believed they went to study until a meeting with Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and the Centre Commerce Committee Chairman Van Rith a week before the Vietnamese arrived at which it was announced that "calls for study sessions are no longer conducted; we have to be united to fight the enemy". Subsequently, this witness understood that people were not being sent to study and that "call for study" meant "disappearing" ⁴⁰¹¹ Duch also states that in some instances people who were to be arrested would be summoned to Nuon Chea's office before being sent to S-21.⁴⁰¹⁸ Upon their arrival in Phnom Penh, people would frequently transit via Office K-7, an office under the authority of Nuon Chea, before arriving at S-21. Duch explained that an annotation "S-21" on a letter sent by West Zone Deputy Secretary Pal dated 26 March 1978 stating that IM Len alias Li (wife of West Zone Secretary Chou Chet alias Si) was to be sent to Angkar via K-7, was made by Nuon Chea.⁴⁰¹⁹ This suggests that Nuon Chea personally ordered the arrest of this individual.

961.            Nuon Chea also organized transfers from security centres in Cambodia to S-21. Asked about the S-79 Security Centre (East Zone) confession of CPK cadre Peou Hak, Duch confirms that this person was first detained at this security centre before being transferred to S-21. He adds, "only Nuon Chea had the power to organize such transfers: Son Sen was not qualified to intervene and Pol Pot did not get personally involved in the organization of the transfers" ⁴⁰²⁰

962.            Outside of the cases where S-21 personnel personally conducted arrests, Duch would be notified to expect prisoners through the receipt of lists of names sent by Son Sen, Nuon Chea or Ken alias Lin.⁴⁰²¹ Additionally, Nuon Chea observed the arrests of two persons named Vin and Phoas, as well as the East Zone Sector 24 Secretary Suos Neou alias Chhouk.⁴⁰²²

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