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 (or, Indictment). The Closing Order of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (co-prosecutors, lead co-lawyers for all civil parties, defense lawyers) make 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 is hearing the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges   (genocide against Buddhists, genocide against Vietnamese, genocide against Cham Muslims, crimes against humanity at the 200 prisons, mass crimes in countless killing fields, Eastern Zone purges, penal code of 1956, etc.) of only the Phase I Movement in April 1975.

 
 Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy.  

 

CLOSING ORDER (or, INDICTMENT)

 

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde

15 September 2010

 

IX. ROLES OF THE CHARGED PERSONS

 

D. IENG THIRITH

Participation in the Common Purpose

Security centres and execution sites

Links to S-21 through the Ministry of Social Affairs

1273. Although Ieng Thirith has denied that she knew Duch or that she knew of the existence of S- 21,⁵⁰⁷⁸ she recently admitted that she was aware that staff members of her Ministry had been arrested, taken away in trucks, and executed during the DK regime.⁵⁰⁷⁹ There is evidence that she was involved in the arrests of staff members of the Ministry, including some of her closest associates. ⁵⁰⁸⁰ Some of them were subsequently sent to S-21 where they were interrogated and gave confessions prior to being executed. Although some of these confessions were communicated to Ieng Thirith,⁵⁰⁸¹ her precise role with respect to the decision of the arrest is not clear.

1274. A large number of people disappeared from the Ministry of Social Affairs or its hospitals and other subordinate units during the time when Ieng Thirith had authority over them. Between 17 April 1976 and 6 January 1979 at least 116 people were arrested and sent to S-21.⁵⁰⁸² The first of these arrests took place in 18 September 197 6⁵⁰⁸³ and the last in 27 December 1978,⁵⁰⁸⁴ with a peak in 1978.

1275. The number of disappearances was higher in the 17 April Hospital than in other places.⁵⁰⁸⁵ This is confirmed by a number of witnesses who used to work in this hospital.⁵⁰⁸⁶ One of them, [REDACTED], witnessed the arrest of the former chairwoman of the 17 April Hospital, Leng Soem Hak alias Sei, who was sent to S-21 in 1976 or 1977.⁵⁰⁸¹ She noted that subsequently, the members of Leng Soem Hak alias Sei's family and other personnel of the 17 April Hospital were arrested.⁵⁰⁸⁸ [REDACTED] also remembers that Ieng Thirith announced that Leng Soem Hak alias Sei, was a traitor in a meeting following her arrest.⁵⁰⁸⁹ [REDACTED], who replaced Leng Soem Hak alias Sei as chairman of the 17 April hospital, explained that he was appointed by Ieng Thirith⁵⁰⁹⁰ and that she instructed him directly to spy on the enemy's action and in particular to watch closely and report on staff members who had been "implicated" or "accused" by others.⁵⁰⁹¹

1276. Massive arrests also occurred in Office K-2. Ieng Thirith's deputy Sin Phal Kun alias Sou was arrested in early 78 and sent to S-21.⁵⁰⁹² This was followed by a wave of arrests in Office K-2, and hospitals and pharmaceutical factories of the Ministry.⁵⁰⁹³ [REDACTED] remembers that, like for Leng Soem Hak alias Sei, Ieng Thirith called a meeting to announce that Sin Phal Kun alias Sou was a traitor.⁵⁰⁹⁴ [REDACTED], Ieng Thirith's former driver, also recalls that Ieng Thirith "called staff in the ministry to come together in a meeting and informed about the arrests of those two people [Sou and Pak]. Both of them were accused of being traitors. She read the circulation from K-3".⁵⁰⁹⁵ According to [REDACTED], Ieng Thirith also said "we must be very careful not to cause any mistakes like those two

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persons".

1277. Asked to comment on prisoner lists showing names of members of the personnel from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Duch explained that they corresponded to mass arrests of people implicated in confessions and describes how the system worked. He states "the leading cadre had already been arrested for example Sin Phal Kun alias Sou (who was Ieng Thirith's deputy), Mok Sam Ol alias Hong (who was in charge of the malaria unit). These people had been interrogated under torture and had implicated others, which lead to the mass arrests. These arrests had no other justification and no prior verification was conducted".5091

1278.       Duch explained that for specific units, there were two ways the arrests could be decided: either Son Sen or Nuon Chea noticed that people were implicated in the confessions and would summon the head of their units - for the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ieng Thirith - to make the decision; or a problem would arise in the unit, in which case the head of the unit (in this case, Ieng Thirith) would report to the superior who would then decide on the arrest.⁵⁰⁹⁸

1279.       Duch also gave information on how people were transported to S-21. According to him, until sometime in 1977, S-21 staff would collect people who had been arrested from whichever unit was holding them. However, after 1977, the unit concerned would be responsible for delivering its people to S-21.⁵⁰⁹⁹ Regarding the Ministry of Social Affairs, Duch said that it was always Lin, Deputy Secretary of Committee S-71 and later Chairman of Office 870,⁵¹⁰⁰ who "oversaw" the arrests. He would collect prisoners from the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health following direct orders from Pol Pot and would inform Duch of the arrival of the prisoners.⁵¹⁰¹ He explained "Sometimes one prisoner was brought to me, such as in Mok Sam Ol's case. Sometimes there were two persons at the same time". ⁵¹⁰²

1280.       According to [REDACTED], people were usually sent to K-7, the messengers' office. He explains that Ieng Thirith asked him to drive her deputy Sin Phal Kun alias Sou and the chairwoman of Ph-1 named Pak to K-7. Their drivers were sent to K-7 as well.⁵¹⁰³

1281.       As explained above, Duch's understanding is that the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health were watched more closely than others.⁵¹⁰⁴ He also said that Lin "was overseeing Ieng Thirith's business because he felt he had Pol Pot's support". ⁵¹⁰⁵ This is further confirmed by [REDACTED], a witness who lived at K-2 who said "I think that nobody else besides Nuon Chea decided the arrests ... [Ieng Thirith] did not have the power to arrest people" .⁵¹⁰⁶

1282.        [REDACTED] said that "people kept disappearing for ever. The excuse was reeducation".⁵¹⁰⁷ According to him, Ieng Thirith was entitled to "purge staff... and to spy upon medical staff in order to uncover enemy burrowing from within".⁵¹⁰⁸ On the other hand, asked about arrests carried out at Office K-2, [REDACTED] also said "I was not sure at that time whether Yeay Phea knew about these arrests. However, she was kind of frightened from her facial expression ... People blamed Yeay Phea ... she did not respond and she was voiceless" .⁵¹⁰⁹

1283.       While Duch has testified that he did not maintain direct relations with the Ministry of Social Affairs,⁵¹¹⁰ a number of confessions link Ieng Thirith directly to S-21. The confession of Mok Sam Ol, former chairman of the Malaria hospital, is annotated "Present[ed] to the Social Affairs side, all sorted out already"⁵¹¹¹ which confirms that the Ministry of Social Affairs was involved in the arrest.⁵¹¹²

1284.       The confession of Pen Vasai, former employee of Ph-4, bears the annotation "Phea" on the top left of its first page.⁵¹¹³ When asked about this confession and the reason why "Phea" was annotated, Duch said that this meant "the confession was sent to Ieng Thirith"⁵¹¹⁴ [REDACTED] wife, [REDACTED], was one of Ieng Thirith's closest associates, and stated that Ieng Thirith read aloud excerpts of this confession to her.⁵¹¹⁵

1285.       In some cases, Ieng Thirith prevented or at least delayed the arrests of some of those she considered were not traitors. For example, she protected her driver [REDACTED] ⁵¹¹⁶ and his sister [REDACTED]. According to [REDACTED], Ieng Thirith believed "in the existence of the traitors and the principle of arresting them ... Ieng Thirith surely believed that I did not betray; that's why I was not arrested. She believed that Sou and Pak had betrayed; that was why they disappeared" ^5X11 [REDACTED] asserted that she had to convince Ieng Thirith that she was not a traitor.⁵¹¹⁸

1286.        [REDACTED] describes another example of a similar intervention of Ieng Thirith. She explains that her husband, [REDACTED], was suspected to be a member of the CIA from early 1977.⁵¹¹⁹ [REDACTED] reports a conversation she had with [REDACTED] who told her "to ask [REDACTED] if he was a member of the CIA adding that if he was, she was prepared to protect him" ⁵¹²⁰ According to [REDACTED], Ieng Thirith's intervention delayed the arrest of [REDACTED] for a year. She explains that after her husband was arrested, Ieng Thirith told her that "[REDACTED] was supposed to be arrested along with two people who had returned from France with him but she (Ieng Thirith) opposed the idea ... she was going to ask Bong to arrange for [REDACTED] to be released from prison and sent to a reeducation camp"⁵¹²¹ However, [REDACTED] S-21 confession demonstrates that he was eventually sent to S-21.⁵¹²² [REDACTED] also explains that Ieng Thirith protected her life when she punished her by sending her to a sugar cane plantation after she was accused of being the accomplice of [REDACTED].⁵¹²³

1287. Furthermore, it appears that Ieng Thirith could not always interfere, like in the case of the arrest of the chairman of Preah Kosomak Hospital where Ieng Thirith is reported to have said "this person is not supposed to be a traitor" .⁵¹²⁴