The Phnom Penh Post

International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley gave an interesting presentation at Rutgers on Wednesday, but unfortunately, he did not want to comment on the record about allegations of political interference at the tribunal (particularly in relation to Cases 003 and 004). It would be safe to say, however, in the comments he did make, Cayley expressed "very grave concerns" about the conduct of Cases 003 and 004, as reported in today's Post.

Moreover, Cayley referenced the recent decisions by the Pre-Trial Chamber related to his appeal against a retraction order related to Case 003. Although the chamber found against his appeal, the vote regarding the civil party application of New Zealander Rob Hamill was split along national/international lines, with international judges writing a substantial dissenting opinion questioning the integrity of the Co-Investigating Judges' conduct in Case 003. Read more about it here.

In a public statement released Thursday, Cayley quoted extensively from this dissenting opinion, listing the following findings of the international judges:

The investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal released a list of 30 crime sites connected to the court’s controversial fourth case yesterday.

You can read their statement here and our coverage here. The list of sites released is as follows:

A) KAMPONG CHAM PROVINCE (CENTRAL ZONE) 

Like many journalists, I received a somewhat peculiar message from the Co-Investigating Judges on Thursday. It read that the judges, "have credible information that the content of the Second Introductory Submission which is classified as confidential, has been divulged by a disloyal staff member of the ECCC," and issued a warning "that anyone publishing information from this confidential document is liable to be subjected to proceedings for Interference with the Administration of Justice pursuant to Internal Rule 35."

As James O'Toole explains in today's Post, this warning came in response to an article from the Christian Science Monitor that quoted extensively from the 2008 document. In the document, prosecutors outline allegations against former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Mut and air force commander Sou Met. The Monitor article also contends that the leaked document casts doubt on the court's ability to operate independently and suggests that the investigation of Case 003 was inadequate.

After dissemination of the memo related to the "disloyal staff member," activist Theary Seng issued a statement praising the ECCC employee's actions. On behalf of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia, she wrote:

I had the opportunity to attend the Rutgers Law event in early April I posted about previously, but have not had the chance until now to write about it. After a keynote speech from activist Theary Seng, several law students presented papers specifically addressing issues at the ECCC.

I was particularly interested in the paper presented by Andrew Diamond -- "Victims Once Again? Civil Party Participation Before the ECCC."

Throughout the first trial, there was a clear and constant tension between the responsibility to represent civil parties in court and the need to conduct an efficient trial. The process was nowhere near as streamlined or organized as it could have been. With the court’s second case looming, and a dramatically larger pool of civil parties demanding representation, the court felt it had to alter the rules of participation.

The Rutgers, Newark Law School will host a symposium this Friday, April 2, featuring an extensive panel discussion about the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Speakers will include Khmer Rouge survivor and activist Theary Seng, Fulbright Fellow Randle DeFalco, DC-Cam Legal Associates Jared Watkins and Andrew Diamond, and others.

The panel ("The ECCC: The Issues and Challenges of Prosecuting the Senior Leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime") is part of the larger event "Human and Economic Dimensions of the Law in Asia."

More information about the symposium is available here. If you are interested in attending, RSVP to ruils@pegasus.rutgers.edu. 

The Khmer Rouge tribunal on Thursday concluded the hearing of evidence in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch. A statement put out by the tribunal noted that, in 72 days of substantive hearings, the court heard from nine expert witnesses, 17 fact witnesses, seven character witnesses and 22 civil parties. Closing statements are set to begin on November 23.

International defence lawyer Francois Roux on Wednesday concluded testimony in dramatic fashion, with questions clearly intended to demonstrate the sincerity of his client’s apologies and statements of remorse. The Trial Chamber allowed him to show a video of Duch's February 2008 visit to the Cheoung Ek killing fields, during which he expressed “indescribable remorse” for the atrocities of the regime. Scroll to the bottom of this link to read the account of the testimony that ran in the Post.

On Thursday, civil party lawyers submitted a joint filing for reparations, in which they asked for free medical care, memorial pagodas and education programmes, among other things. Beyond the joint filing, lawyers plan to include individual reparations claims in final submissions to the Trial Chamber. A decision on reparations will likely be announced at the same time as the verdict, which is expected early next year.

There have been no hearings this week, but there has been plenty of tribunal-related news concerning the prospect of additional prosecutions.

Prime Minister Hun Sen got the ball rolling on Monday when he repeated his claim that any more investigations would lead to civil war, this time saying the casualty count could reach up to 300,000.

As it turned out, William Smith, the acting international co-prosecutor, was that very day submitting formal requests for the investigations of five more suspects. One of the introductory submissions listed crimes that Smith said constituted  genocide. This charge was pursued in the prosecution's first introductory submission -- filed in July 2007 -- but was not brought against any of the five leaders currently in custody.