The Phnom Penh Post

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:

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 that the legal errors in the sentence reassure me that representing him in the appeal is the right thing to do," Kaufman said.

Kaufman said there was substance to the defense's claim that Duch had been just a cog in the Khmer Rouge's killing machine, following the orders of his superiors.

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.