The Phnom Penh Post

The New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, funded by billionaire financier George Soros, released a report today discussing possible completion strategies for the ECCC and warning against the referral of the court's third and fourth cases to domestic courts, as some government officials have suggested. For more details, check out the story in today's Post or read the full OSJI report.

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:

The government began to disclose extractive industry payments from the private sector for the first time this year.

It's a long way to Siem Reap, at least by boat, as these tourists found out after a six-hour trip up the Tonle Sap from Phnom Penh. As the crow flies the journey is just 234km - so why are CAA one-way tickets close to $100 each?

For those who will be in the capital tomorrow, DC-Cam is hosting a conference titled "Understanding Genocide" at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia. ECCC international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley will deliver a lecture on the legal definition of genocide, and there will also be a screening of Lost Loves, a feature-length film on the Khmer Rouge period by Cambodian director Chhay Bora. For the full schedule click here, or contact DC-Cam's Farina So for more details.

Dr. Francis Deng, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and Benny Widyono, former Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cambodia, will discuss the implications of the tribunal's second case this Thursday at Rutgers University, Newark. Detailed information about the event can be found here. I plan to attend and will report highlights of the conversation.

The Pre-Trial Chamber at the Khmer Rouge tribunal (ECCC).

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 the arguments made during closing arguments in November by defence attorney Kar Savuth, who said Duch could not be considered a senior leader when S-21 was just one among dozens of similar prisons in Democratic Kampuchea.

"Duch has been detained for 10 years," Kar Savuth said at the time. "Other chiefs of prisons have not been detained, so I think it is an appropriate time that the chamber release my client and allow him to go home."

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.

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 heavily. You can read more about both the appeal and the final submission in tomorrow's Post.