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.  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

 

 

Tuol Po Chrey Execution Site³⁰¹⁶

Location and Establishment

696.            The Tuol Po Chrey execution site was operational intermittently from late April 1975 to approximately 1977 during³⁰¹⁷ which large-scale killings of the ex-military and civilian population were carried out.³⁰¹⁸

697.            Located on an area of elevated ground,³⁰¹⁹ the site was close to the western moving shores of Boeng Tonle Sap, ³⁰²⁰ close to Kdei Chhvit Village, Sre Dok Subdistrict of Kandieng District in Pursat Province.³⁰²¹ According to the CPK's system of identifying administrative boundaries, Tuol Po Chrey was located in Kandieng District, Sector 7, Northwest Zone.³⁰²²

698.            The Tuol Po Chrey execution site included a former Khmer Republic military fort (also known as the Po Village Fort).³⁰²³ Located approximately 4 kilometres from Tuol Po Chrey was a smaller lake which was also a killing site into which bodies were dumped.³⁰²⁴

Functioning

Structure and Personnel

699.            The Northwest Zone Committee Secretary was Muol Sambat (alias Ta Nhim alias Ruos Nheum alias Moul Un) until his arrest by Southwest Zone cadre in mid 1978 ³⁰²⁵ and replacement as Northwest Zone Secretary by Ta Mok.³⁰²⁶ Vice Chairman of the Northwest Zone was Kung Sophal alias Ta Keu,³⁰²⁷ himself arrested and transferred to S-21 in November 1978.³⁰²⁸

700.            A Northwest Zone Military Division Commander was Ta Khleng whose division captured the town of Pursat³⁰²⁹ Ta Khi was the Secretary of Kandieng District and the Deputy Secretary was Ta San.³⁰³⁰ Ta Mao was on the Committee for Kandieng District.³⁰³¹ Ta Sot alias Ke Kim Huot was the Secretary of Sector 7 and Ta Tuoy was Deputy Secretary.³⁰³² Ta Sot would later be arrested and transferred to S-21 in July 1977,³⁰³³ as was Ta Tuoy.³⁰³⁴

701.            As reported by witnesses, regular meetings were held in 1976 between high ranking CPK cadre including the zone, district and sector committee secretaries as well as the unit chiefs in the subdistricts and the chiefs of the cooperatives.³⁰³⁵ Witness evidence supports that Nuon Chea convened two or three times these meetings and prepared the plans to purge internal enemies,³⁰³⁶ which included placing spies inside the districts to report to the District and Sector Committees.³⁰³⁷ Based on these reports, the Sector Committees would make arrests in the Districts and Subdistricts.³⁰³⁸ Witness testimony supports the personal attendance of Nuon Chea at these meetings.³⁰³⁹

Arrest, Transfer and Execution at Tuol Po Chrey Execution Site

702.            Tuol Po Chrey functioned from 1975 through to 1977, and there appear to have been a number of killings through this period.³⁰⁴⁰

Former Lon Nol Officers and Officials

703.            Immediately following the fall of Phnom Penh, CPK cadre moved in and took full control of Pursat Province and the regional area where Tuol Po Chrey was located.³⁰⁴¹ Pursat Province fell to the CPK on 19 April 1975 and in the days shortly thereafter a meeting was called summoning the Pursat provincial governor, soldiers and civil servants of the former Khmer Republic government to the Pursant provincial office; the subject of which was an "invitation to receive the Angkar at Tuol Po Chrey"³⁰⁴² CPK soldiers were deployed around the provincial headquarters to prevent attendees from escaping.³⁰⁴³

704.           Witness testimony supports that "all former officers" of the regime were summoned to the

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meeting.

705.            Present at this meeting were Ta Nhim and Ta Kan (from the Northwest Zone Committee), Ta Sot (from the Sector 7 Committee).³⁰⁴⁵ Also present was Ta Tuoy (the Deputy Secretary of Sector 7), [REDACTED] (the Deputy Secretary of Kandieng District), and Ta Mao (from the Kandieng District Committee).³⁰⁴⁶ According to one former CPK cadre, Ta Nhim and Ta Sot had given the orders that "all dignitaries, both military and policemen, from Lon Nol regime had to be killed. If we kept them [alive], there would be resistance in the later time so they all had to be executed. The soldiers who took the [Lon Nol] military and policemen to be killed were only soldiers from Zone and Sector".³⁰⁴⁷

706.            The victims arrived at the provincial headquarters compound by their own accord.³⁰⁴⁸ It was estimated that approximately three thousand were gathered in the compound to attend this

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meeting.

707.            The victims were deceived, being told that they were going to undergo study to be then reintegrated into the army at their previous ranks or higher.³⁰⁵⁰ This was announced to the assembled crowd via loudspeakers.³⁰⁵¹ As a consequence, the former Khmer Republic participants left the meeting happy and undisturbed having been made this promise and that they would be given an opportunity to meet King Sihanouk.³⁰⁵² The victims were then transported by large trucks to the fort at the Tuol Po Chrey execution site.³⁰⁵³ Each truck carried approximately 30-40 people and witnesses estimate there were approximately 30-40 trucks making the trip.³⁰⁵⁴ There were not enough trucks to transport all the victims at once so a number of round-trips had to be made.³⁰⁵⁵ This operation was carried out by troops of Sector Battalion 201 and Northwest Zone Battalion 24. Ta Khleng, is said to have personally participated in this operation.³⁰⁵⁶

708.            Victims were killed immediately upon arrival.³⁰⁵⁷ The CPK soldiers spent the whole day shooting the victims, lasting from morning to evening.³⁰⁵⁸

709.            The victims were buried in a series of large pits, each containing numerous bodies³⁰⁵⁹ and were 10 square metres.³⁰⁶⁰ Bulldozers were used to bury the victims and corpses were piled on top of each other.³⁰⁶¹ Khmer Republic army uniforms were found next to the pits.³⁰⁶² The victims had their hands tied behind their backs and were tied together in lines.³⁰⁶³ The bodies were covered in blood and gunshot wounds were seen on the bodies with some being shot in the head and others in the chest.³⁰⁶⁴ Witness estimates as to the number of victims range from 2,000³⁰⁶⁵ up to approximately 3,000 corpses.

Base People and New People from the Cooperatives

710.           Witness testimony further supports that in addition to the large-scale killing of former Khmer Republic soldiers and officials, there were ongoing smaller scale killings at Tuol Po Chrey, between 1976 and 1977, of individuals from the local cooperatives who were considered either to have undesirable biographies or who were deemed to be lazy and not fulfilling their work criteria.³⁰⁶⁶ One witness states that people would be arrested on an ongoing basis and when the number of arrestees reached one hundred they would be taken to Tuol Po Chrey for execution.³⁰⁶⁷

711.            Prisoners were also transported to a smaller lake 4 kilometres from Tuol Po Chey to be executed. One witness states that the lake was full of corpses, estimating that approximately

five thousand corpses had been dumped into it.³⁰⁶⁸

***

712.            Twenty (20) civil parties were declared admissible with regards to Tuol Po Chrey Execution Site,³⁰⁶⁹ 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 Tuol Po Chrey Execution Site.