Day in Court

The Khmer Rouge tribunal will open up a series of “victim impact hearings” today at the war crimes court.

According to court spokesman Neth Pheaktra, the tribunal has blocked out four days of time to hear several civil parties – as opposed to witnesses – who will come and describe their experiences under the Khmer Rouge regime.

“It will focus around the suffering of the civil parties. The civil party lawyers and the other parties will ask them questions,” he said.

Pheaktra added that he wasn’t sure how many civil parties were lined up to speak throughout the four days, or if their statements would include requests to the Trial Chamber beyond simply describing their own first-hand experiences.

He also said that the hearings came at the request of civil party lawyers. Several months ago, the civil party legal team floated proposals for a number of reparation projects, including a museum and a permanent monument, that will likely be decided when Case 002 comes to a close.