Personal journey an anecdote for greater loss

One of the last images of Kerry Hamill before he was captured by the Khmer Rouge in 1970s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnAQH02GHoA

March 12, 2012
Laura’s screening
with Laura Weaser
Sun Live (New Zealnad)

Brother Number One. Out now in selected cinemas. Directed by Annie Goldson.

Bookended by a brother’s journey, Brother Number One leads the viewer through Cambodian history as told by Whakatane born Rob Hamill’s own experiences. Tracing his brother Kerry’s last steps, ‘Brother’ follows Rob’s personal struggle with loss as well as the loss of thousands of Cambodians who have been affected by the Khmer Rouge.

Brother Number One explores one of the ‘forgotten’ genocides of the 20th century, examining how and why nearly two million Cambodians could be killed by an ultra-Maoist regime known as the Khmer Rouge. The documentary focuses on Rob’s trip to Cambodia in 2009 as he seeks justice and answers for his eldest brother Kerry who was murdered by the Khmer Rouge in 1978 along with two sailing companions.

UK Premiere of Brother Number One

UK PREMIERE:

BROTHER NUMBER ONE + Q&A
25-26 March | Curzon Soho and Ritzy Cinema

+View the full festival lineup on FF.HRW.ORG

Presented in association with International Alert

Through New Zealander Rob Hamill's story of his brother's death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, Brother Number One explores how the regime and its followers killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. In 1978, Kerry Hamill and his friends Stuart Glass and John Dewhirst disappeared without a trace while sailing from Australia to Southeast Asia. Find out more

Discussion to follow with filmmaker and family of John Dewhirst

TICKETS:

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Ritzy: Monday 26 March, 18.30 + Q&A | Invite friends


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Hamill given access to Khmer Rouge file

JUSTICE: Kerry Hamill, brother of rower Rob Hamill, was killed when the yacht he and friends were sailing strayed into Cambodian waters in August 1978. (DOMINION POST)

29/02/2012
Fairfax NZ News

Rob Hamill a decision granting him civil party status in the Cambodian war crimes trial of Khmer Rouge commanders he holds responsible for the death of his brother Kerry is a huge breakthrough.

That decision should have given him access to the case file, but that access is still being blocked.

Kerry Hamill was tortured and killed in Cambodia in 1978, after being abducted from his boat, which he was sailing with two friends.

He was one of about 1.7 million people who died during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.

PRESS STATEMENT

One step forward, two steps back: Rob Hamill’s Civil Party Application in Cases 003 and 004 still in limbo

20 February 2012

Following the Considerations of the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) on civil party applicant, Rob Hamill’s Appeal against the decision of the Co-Investigating Judges (CIJs) rejecting his civil claims in Case 003, Mr. Hamill’s Lawyers filed a Request for Reconsideration of his status in Case 003. That Request was filed on 3 January 2012 to the Office of CIJs. Six weeks later, there has still been no acknowledgement of that submission by the Greffier of the Office of the CIJs, nor has the Request been placed on the case file.

On 14 February 2012, the PTC delivered Considerations on a similar appeal by Mr Hamill relating to Case004. In both its Case 003 and 004 Considerations, the PTC unanimously declared that it has not assembled an affirmative vote ofat least four judges on a decision on Mr Hamill’s lawyers request to access the Case File, or to decide on the merits of his Appeals.

In both cases, the three national judges upheld the decision of the CIJs, while the two international judges held that a proper determination on the substance of Mr Hamill’s civil claims could not be made in light of numerous procedural shortcomings in the way the case file documents were handled. These errors included the ‘significant unexplained delays’ in processing documents submitted by Mr Hamill’s legal team; failure to notify Mr Hamill and his lawyers of the rejection order; failure to provide Mr Hamill and his legal team with access to the case files; failure to provide Mr Hamill with information about the scope of the CIJs’ investigation, and failure to forward his application to the Office of the Co-Prosecutors, as a complaint.

Most disconcerting is the continuing procedural irregularities at the Office of the CIJs in the conduct of this current Request for Reconsideration, manifested most recently in the non-placement of Mr Hamill’s Request on the Case File. Following the resignation of Judge Siegfried Blunk in October 2011, International Reserve Co-Investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet took on the functions of the international CIJ. As the absence of a super majority vote at the PTC level means that the rejection of Mr. Hamill’s civil party status stands, it is hoped that the Request could be considered afresh by both CIJs, in order that Mr. Hamill receive due recognition for the harm that he suffered, with the additional opportunity for the Office of the CIJs to address, rectify and improve on its past procedural practices and shortcomings.

Civil Party Lawyers welcome the International CIJs’ Order on Resuming the Judicial Investigation into Case 003,and with Judge Kasper-Ansermet’s taking office, it is important that Mr.Hamill’s Request for Reconsideration in Case 003 be properly reconsidered by both CIJs on its merits and in accordance with the proper procedure, so that public confidence can be restored in the CIJs’ ability to ensure legal certainty and transparency in the decisions of its Office, and that victims’ rights at the tribunal is upheld.

Mr SAM Sokong and Ms Lyma NGUYEN

Civil Party Lawyers for Mr. Robert Hamill

SAM Sokong: samsokong@yahoo.com / +855 1260 6101 (Phnom Penh,Cambodia)

Lyma NGUYEN: lyma.nguyen@gmail.com / +61 404 111 579 (Darwin, Australia)

http://www.box.com/s/ocq3v3bdeezq99djvmsy

Hamill to speak on his brother's torture, death

Rob Hamill

Saturday, November 26, 2011
Amie Hickland
Wairarapa Times-Age (New Zealand)

Marathon rowing champion Rob Hamill will visit Masterton next month to speak ahead of the film, Brother Number One.

Mr Hamill will give a personal account of his travels to Cambodia to discover the story behind the torture and death of his brother, Kerry Hamill, by the Khmer Rouge.

Masterton Safe and Healthy Community Council manager Sandy Ryan said Mr Hamill was visiting at the council's invitation.

Khmer Rouge tribunal rejects Kiwi case

ROB HAMILL: His brother was captured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge after his yacht strayed into Cambodian waters in 1978. This year Mr Hamill tried to take a civil case against five people under investigation for his killing, and other war crimes (FAIRFAX NZ)

27/10/2011
NICOLA BRENNAN-TUPARA
Stuff.co.nz

Trans-Atlantic rower Rob Hamill, whose brother was murdered by the Khmer Rouge, has failed in his appeal to bring civil proceedings against several of those he believes were involved.

However, his case has raised serious concerns of judicial misconduct, and serious procedural irregularities, by investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Olympic rower Hamill's elder brother Kerry was abducted by the Khmer Rouge in 1978 when his yacht strayed into Cambodian waters. He was taken prisoner at Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, where he was tortured and murdered. Early this year Mr Hamill, who lives in Te Pahu, tried to take a civil case for his killing, and other war crimes, against five people under investigation by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, known as the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Judges decry KRT missteps

Rob Hamill of New Zealand speaks to the Post outside the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in August 2009. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)

Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

A disregard for victims’ rights, procedural discrepancies and a failure to provide sufficient information to parties by investigating judges in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s controversial third case were described in court documents released yesterday.

A redacted version of considerations of the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber of prominent New Zealander Rob Hamill’s civil party application rejection were among documents released.

The two international judges, Rowan Downing and Katinka Lahuis, who constitute the minority of the Pre-Trial Chamber, recognised that co-investigating judges Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng had refused to acknowledge civil party lawyers in Case 003 and ignored their requests to access the case file.

“We are of the view that, by their course of action, the Co-Investigating Judges have deprived some civil party applicants, including the Appellant [Rob Hamill], of the fundamental right to legal representation,” the opinion of the international judges read.

Judges face misconduct accusation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UnAQH02GHoA

Wednesday 26th Oct, 2011
By Letitia Atkinson
letitia@thesun.co.nz
SunLive (New Zealand)

The co-investigating judges handling the pre-trial case of the men accused of ordering the torture and murder of a Whakatane man in 1978 are accused of misconduct.

Kerry Hamill was killed after being seized off the coast of Cambodia; the orders to torture and murder him were given under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Kerry’s younger brother, Rob Hamill, appealed to be a civil party representative in the third cases against the defendants, but had his appeal rejected by the Office of Co-Investigating Judges.

A new ruling has revealed evidence of possible judicial misconduct as well as serious procedural irregularities on the part of investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. 

Considerations of the Pre-Trial Chamber regarding the appeal against order on the admissibility of civil party application Robert Hamill

http://www.box.net/shared/d08not9011spkvqcab88

Robb Hamill's interview on the KR Tribunal

Rob Hamill (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Click the control below to listen to the audio program:

Click here to listen or download the audio program in MP3

Champion Rower Seeks Justice in Brother's Khmer Rouge Killing

Kerry Hamill, sailing with his then-girlfriend, Gail Colley, in the 1970s. (Photo: Rob Hammil)

Rob Hamill, testifying in 2009 at the trial of the Khmer Rouge's "Duch." (Annie Goldson)

July 28, 2011
Sarah Williams | Washington, D.C.
Voice of America

Olympic rower Rob Hamill is on a quest. Not for gold, but for justice. Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge captured and killed his brother, Kerry, in 1978. And now, Hamill is fighting to bring the murderers to justice. That quest is the subject of a new documentary, “Brother Number One,” which premiered this week at the New Zealand International Film Festival.

The cameras followed Hamill as he retraced his brother’s path through Cambodia and testified at the first U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal of former Khmer Rouge leaders. The New Zealander said he realized he needed to pursue the case while competing in the first trans-Atlantic rowing race 1997.

Feeling the pain

“Whether it was the ocean, being on the sea, or whether it was just the exhaustion and on the edge sort of, I ended up grieving for Kerry at sea.” Hamill told VOA in an interview. “I realized at that time I was going to have to do something, at some point. I didn’t know when that would be or how that would look, but it was certainly going to be at least a trip to Cambodia, along the path that Kerry took.”

Hamill 'scallywag' claims rejected

23/07/2011
LOUISE RISK
Waikato Times

On the eve of a film premiere about his fight for justice over the death of his brother, Hamilton man Rob Hamill has dismissed suggestions Kerry Hamill was running drugs before being killed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Brother Number One is a documentary film that follows Mr Hamill's tireless campaign on behalf of his brother Kerry, who was one of three international sailors slain in 1978, after being captured by Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

The film will premiere in Auckland tomorrow.

But a recently released book explores the possibility Kerry Hamill and his two sailing partners were off Cambodia to carry out some sort of drug smuggling mission.

Hamill’s lawyers on warpath

Rob Hamill talks to reporters from the Post in August, 2009. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)

Thursday, 21 July 2011
Thomas Miller
The Phnom Penh Post

Attorneys for former Olympic rower Rob Hamill have appealed against what they describe as an “absolutely shocking” decision by the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s co-investigating judges to reject his application for civil-party status in the court’s controversial third case.

Civil party lawyer Lyma Nguyen said in a statement yesterday the co-investigating judges’ grounds of rejection were “absolutely shocking, drafted very poorly and completely surprising”.

She urged the international community to hold the court accountable for the “poor legal quality” of the order and the “blatant contempt depicted against victims and civil party applicants by the co-investigating judges”.

Hamill, a New Zealander, was accepted as a civil party in Cases 001 and 002.

His brother Kerry and two other foreigners were captured by the Khmer Rouge in 1978 after accidentally sailing into Cambodian waters. Kerry was tortured and later executed at the notorious S-21 prison.

Nguyen said yesterday Hamill’s application for civil-party status was “clearly in the scope of investigations” for Case 003.

Rob Hamill film to debut at festival

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfWaD_FXTqo&feature=player_embedded

06/07/2011
BRIDGET JONES
Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand)

The story of a Kiwi Olympian's search for justice for his lost brother will have its world premiere at this year's New Zealand International Film Festival.

Brother Number One, directed by Annie Goldson, follows Olympian and transatlantic rowing champion Rob Hamill's search for justice for his brother Kerry who disappeared while sailing in 1978.

Two years later the family learnt Kerry had been identified as a victim in a Cambodian death camp.

Goldson accompanies Hamill to Cambodia as he testifies before a War Crimes Tribunal and follows him in his journey for closure.

Angry calls for judge to be sacked

http://vimeo.com/14936602

Thursday 30th Jun, 2011
By Letitia Atkinson
letitia@thesun.co.nz
Source: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/13923-angry-calls-judge-to-be-sacked.html

"With this document it’s clear Judge (Siegfried) Blunk has sunk the credibility of the court to a new low ... Clearly, he had no ethical or moral compass to guide him and, in my mind, has joined the ranks of the perpetrators themselves in terms of harm done to victims.”

A Bay of Plenty man is calling for a Cambodian judge to be ‘sacked’ after the judge rejected his testimony.

The testimony stated the grief he suffered from the murder of his brother by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Rob Hamill’s brother was tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in 1978, with legal proceedings underway for those believed responsible.

Released documents show attempts by the co-investigating judges (CIJs), You Bunleng and Siegfried Blunk, to exclude testimonial information of the Olympic rower from being considered as evidence in tribunal investigations.

“I have always believed the reasons outlined for my rejection to be civil party in case 003 confirm interference in the court process,” says Rob.

“The arguments are frail to the point of ludicrous.”

The Olympic rower seeking justice for his brother, killed by the Khmer Rouge

Kerry Hamill

Rob Hamill

Mon, 6 Jun 11
BBC

The Olympic rower, Rob Hamill, talks to Lucy Ash about seeking justice for his brother Kerry who was murdered by the Khmer Rouge. Rob went to the war crimes tribunal in Cambodia with a film crew who recorded the trial and Rob's personal journey of discovery into how and where his brother died.

Click on the control below to listen to the BBC Outlook audio program:

Lawyers want 003 case file

Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said she believed all 318 people who have applied to be civil parties in Case 003 will ultimately be rejected, as the judges have no intention of sending the case to trial.

Rob Hamill

Wednesday, 25 May 2011
James O'Toole
The Phnom Penh Post

Lawers for former Olympic rower Rob Hamill have called for access to the case file in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s third case as they prepare to appeal the controversial rejection of his civil party application.

In a request dated May 12 and made public on the court’s website yesterday, the New Zealander’s lawyers argued that their continued lack of access to the case file would prevent them from effectively defending Hamill’s right to participate.

“This request is made in the interests of justice and on grounds of procedural fairness,” the lawyers wrote, noting that in Case 002, in which Hamill has already been accepted as a civil party, lawyers received access to the case file ahead of decisions on their clients’ admissibility.

“Civil Party applicants cannot form meaningful legal and/or factual grounds of appeal without knowledge of basic matters pertaining to the case file,” they said.

Request for Suspension of Deadline for Appeal Against Order on Admissibility of Civil Party Application of Robert Hamill Pending Grant of Access to Case File 003 and 004

Because Rob Hamill saw his civil application deemed inadmissible in Case 003, his lawyers requested access to this case file in order to examine the validity of the judges' rejection.

Request for Suspension of Deadline for Appeal Against Order on Admissibility of Civil Party Application of ...
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/56192372?access_key=key-1qb7dtqa6qy1vs3g9hmf

KRT judges rap prosecutor Cayley

Thursday, 19 May 2011
James O'Toole and Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

At least two of those applications have already been rejected, however – those of local activist Theary Seng and New Zealander Rob Hamill, whose brother was abducted by the Khmer Rouge in the Gulf of Thailand and later executed. Hamill’s rejection was particularly dubious, given that Cayley said last week that the “capture of foreign nationals off the coast of Cambodia and their unlawful imprisonment” figured in the Case 003 investigation.

JUDGES at the Khmer Rouge tribunal have rebuked British co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley for a statement he issued last week that revealed their inaction in the court’s controversial third case.

Last week Cayley issued a statement saying that the alleged crimes in Case 003 “have not been fully investigated”.

The statement followed an announcement from the co-investigating judges last month that they had concluded investigation in the case.

In listing a series of additional investigative steps he planned to ask that the judges perform in the case, Cayley effectively divulged their lack of action over the last 20 months that the investigation was open.

Still remaining to be done, Cayley said, were investigations of mass grave sites and interrogations of witnesses including the suspects themselves, who have yet to be questioned in the investigation.

Hamill's 003 bid denied

Rob Hamill attends the verdict in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in July of last year. (Photo by: Bejan Siavoshy)

Wednesday, 18 May 2011
James O'Toole
The Phnom Penh Post

Judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal have rejected a civil party application from former Olympic rower Rob Hamill in the court’s third case, fuelling further speculation that its dismissal has been planned in advance.

In a statement released yesterday, Hamill called the rejection “outrageous and unfounded” given his family’s clear connection to the investigation.

Hamill’s brother Kerry was captured by the Khmer Rouge in 1978 while sailing with friends in the Gulf of Thailand before being taken to S-21 prison in Phnom Penh and executed. Rob Hamill was present to testify about the ordeal in 2009 during the tribunal’s first trial, that of former S-21 prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch.

Hamill was admitted as a civil party in both Case 001 and Case 002, which features four senior Khmer Rouge leaders including former KR second-in-command Nuon Chea and is set to head to trial later this year.

The suspects in Case 003 remain officially confidential, though court documents reveal them as former KR navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met.