Former S-21 deputy Mam Nay did indeed begin testifying today, although his much-anticipated appearance was somewhat anticlimactic. For the most part, the 76-year-old, bundled in a krama and gloves, claimed he couldn't remember much about his work under Comrade Duch.
He told judges that, despite his status as an interrogator at S-21, he did not torture prisoners. Moreover, he claimed that the detainees brought to him looked neither malnourished nor mistreated -- a comment met with disbelief by many audience members.
Mam became most passionate toward the end of the day, when explaining how he believed all of the Vietnamese brought to S-21 were somehow guilty.
“I strongly believe they were invaders of Cambodian territory," he told Judge Jean-Marc Lavergne emphatically. "None of them was innocent. They grabbed Cambodian territory!”
When Lavergne asked if he had any regrets, Mam responded that he regretted that his country had been invaded by foreigners, first the Americans and then the Vietnamese.
His testimony will continue tomorrow.
