Blog entries tagged Duch

Duch's Israeli defender faces questions at home

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 08:22:04 +0100

Israeli attorney Nick Kaufman has raised few eyebrows in his homeland since accepting an appointment in August to serve as a consultant for the Duch defense team, the AP reports:

"Emotionally, it's hard for me to accept that an Israeli Jew would defend a mass murderer," said Noah Flug, a survivor of the Auschwitz camp and head of an umbrella group of Holocaust survivor organizations in Israel....
Kaufman still fights for victims: He is representing eight people who fled fro...

NY Review of Books on ECCC

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:22:06 +0100

Duch at the tribunal last year with defense lawyers Francois Roux (left) and Kar Savuth (ECCC).

The New York Review of Books had a blog post last week on the ECCC by Stéphanie Giry, editor-at-large of Foreign Affairs. Giry writes about Case 001 and the extent to which Duch was able to exert his influence over the proceedings:

For his part in overseeing the torture ...

Duch appeals Case 001 verdict

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:36:53 +0100

Duch's lawyers filed notice today that they will appeal the tribunal's verdict in Case 001, arguing that their client "does not fit into the category of persons under the jurisdiction of the ECCC". The appeal notice accuses the court of practicing "victors' justice" and failing "to demonstrate why it was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Prosecution evidence on which it relied proved that the Accused fell under its personal jurisdiction".

This language echoes...

New defence consultant for Duch

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:28:12 +0100

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Nick Kaufman, a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, has been appointed as a consultant for Duch's defence team following last month's verdict. Kaufman says he's been impressed by Duch's expressions of remorse and is ready to move forward with the appeal process.

"I believe in the sincerity of his regret, after meeting him last week, and I feel th...

Prosecutors appeal Duch sentence, file final submission

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:04:48 +0100

A busy day today for prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, as they gave notice that they will appeal the judgment handed down against Duch last month and filed their final submission for Case 002. As the Co-Investigating Judges had indicated earlier this year, Duch will not be indicted in Case 002.

Click here to read the notice of appeal, which argues that the Trial Chamber gave "insufficient weight to the gravity of Duch's crimes" and weighed mitigating circumstances too heav...

Video interview with international prosecutors

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:06:54 +0100

Cambodia Tribunal Monitor has a post-verdict interview posted with international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley and deputy prosecutor William Smith in which they talk about the judgment and compare the ECCC to other international tribunals at which they've worked. CTM has also posted an interview with John Ciorciari, a senior legal adviser at DC-Cam, as well as video of the verdict itself.

CTM Interviews International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley and Deputy International Co-P...

The question of punishment

Elena Lesley — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:56:09 +0100

In the wake of Duch’s verdict, commentary has been pouring in about the appropriateness of the sentence and future of the tribunal itself. I believe much of the outrage surrounding the sentence underscores conflicting expectations regarding the tribunal’s mission: While it has a relatively limited prosecutorial mandate, the court has been tasked, in the minds of many observers and victims, with helping complete a more truthful narrative of the Khmer Rouge period and with fostering...

Weighing the Duch verdict

Elena Lesley — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:50:11 +0100

Today’s historic verdict for Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Comrade Duch," will no doubt generate debate. A reduced sentence of 19 years, for a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, will anger many – especially those who wanted him to face the death penalty (which is illegal in Cambodia).

At the same time, it is true that Duch has cooperated with the court, probably does not present a threat to society if ever released and most likely, given his age, will e...

3 days and counting

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:57:59 +0100

Journalists, academics and observers of all kinds are pouring into Phnom Penh as Monday's announcement of the verdict in Case 001 approaches. For a look of what exactly, from a logistical standpoint, one can expect from the proceedings on Monday, check out this article in today's Post. A couple of more previews with a little more colour to them:

- David Scheffer, managing editor of Cambodia Trib...

Updates at Cambodia Tribunal Monitor

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:20:27 +0100

One of the best online sources for those following the proceedings at the ECCC, cambodiatribunalmonitor.org, has announced new features that it plans to have in place in time for the July 26 verdict in Case 001. The site, which has recently added RSS and Twitter feeds, will have correspondents on hand to live-blog on the day of the verdict and to post video interviews. You can also log onto the site to find video archives of proceedings at the court thus far and read expert analysis. The site...

Americans not following tribunal developments, according to NY Times

Elena Lesley — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:33:29 +0100

A recent commentary in the New York Times describes the general lack of attention the Khmer Rouge tribunal has received in the United States. I have to say that, sadly, since I returned to the U.S. in August, I have found this largely to be the case.

It is particularly inexcusable considering the role America played in decimating the country and creating circumstances that allowed the Khmer Rouge to come to power in the first place.

As Richard Bernstein writes, the lack of atten...

Duch closing arguments rundown

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:24:14 +0100

Recapping a week of closing arguments:

Monday: Judges should not be fooled by the partial confessions and feigned contrition Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, has employed in a bid to downplay the savage crimes he committed as Tuol Sleng prison commandant, civil party lawyers argued Monday during the first round of closing statements in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s first case.

Tuesday: A lengthy prison sentence for Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, w...

Evidence in Duch trial concludes

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:51:23 +0100

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...

Closing argument dates set

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:41:22 +0100

The Trial Chamber announced last week that closing statements in the case of Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, would be heard beginning on November 23.

The tribunal's internal rules call for closing statements to be given by civil parties, the co-prosecutors, Duch's defence lawyers and Duch himself.

Duch confronted by the relatives of victims he knew

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:48:55 +0100

During the last two days of testimony last week, the Khmer Rouge tribunal heard from the relatives of detainees whom Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, knew personally.

Im Sun Thy and Phung Sunthary, the wife and daughter of the respected law professor Phung Ton, described for the court on Wednesday how his death had affected them. Phung Ton had at one point taught Duch.

Phung Sunthary said she did not believe Duch's past claims that he had no idea what happened...

Rob Hamill's post-testimony interview

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:55:02 +0100

Rob Hamill capped an emotional day of civil party testimony Monday with an intimate account of how the death of his brother Kerry, who was executed at Tuol Sleng after his yacht drifted off course into Cambodian waters in 1978, devastated his family.

(Rob Hamill/Sovan Philong)

The former Olympic rower described the torture he longed to inflic...

From digging mass graves to death by stoning

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:12:54 +0100

The Khmer Rouge tribunal last week heard from three witnesses -- two men who said they survived Tuol Sleng and a Prey Sar survivor who described losing her husband and all four children to the regime.

Chhun Phal, who on Monday concluded testimony that began on August 6, said he worked for about one month at the Choeung Ek killing fields, where he dug mass graves and filled one with naked, bloodied corpses.

The 47-year-old rice farmer at first said he had not been tasked with d...

Blog changes

Elena Lesley — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:40:00 +0100

After nearly a year and a half in Cambodia, the time has come for me to return to the U.S. While I certainly plan to come back to Cambodia in the future, it most likely won't be before the trial of Comrade Duch has wrapped up. Luckily, a talented journalist at the Post has offered to help me maintain the blog.

Robbie Corey-Boulet received an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and wrote for publications in India and Seattle before coming to the Phnom Penh Post. A strange coinci...

KRT in brief

Elena Lesley — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:29:11 +0100

In recent days, scholar David Chandler has testified to Khmer Rouge stupidity, and a former S-21 gravedigger has described how he helped dispose of bodies.

"The court is yours," Public Affairs head tells Cambodians

Elena Lesley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:22:20 +0100

Luckily, it seems that our webmaster at the Post has been able to work out some of the kinks with the new format, and I am able to post entries again. I still need to correct formatting issues with old entries, but this will be done in the near future.

Since I last wrote, the court has continued interviewing former S-21 staffers. Recaps of these testimonies are a...