Ao An
Related Case(s) : 004, 004/02
Alias : Ta An, AOM An, AO Yoeurng, AOM Yeourng1
AO An (1933-2020) was a Secretary of Sector 41 before being appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Central Zone. He was charged and indicted by the International Co-Investigating Judge in Case 004 (later 004/02), while the National Co-Investigating Judge dismissed his case for lack of personal jurisdiction. The case against Ao An was terminated in 2021 by the Supreme Court Chamber for lack of a definite and enforceable indictment.
Explore the Khmer Rouge hierarchy to understand his role in the secretive system.
Drag
1933
Born in Taing Svay village, Peam commune, Kampong Tralach Leu district, Kampong Chhnang province.2
1954
1954-1960
Served in the monkhood.3
1963
1963-1970
Worked as a rice farmer.4
1969
August
Arrested by Khmer Republic officials and interrogated regarding his links to the communist resistance.5
1970
18 March
Joined the communist movement after Norodom Sihanouk was overthrown.6
1971
Appointed to the District Committee of Kandal Stueng district and commander of Division 11.7
1975
17 April
Commanded Division 11 during the attack on Phnom Penh and was appointed to the Sector 25 Committee (Southwest Zone) and Secretary of Sa-Ang District.8
1977
Late 1977
Appointed Deputy Secretary of the Central Zone.13
1978
October
Served as acting Central Zone Secretary in Ke Pauk’s absence.14
1979
After January 1979
Fled to Mum Bei Refugee Camp along with other CPK forces, later moving to the Steung Chann Camp in Thailand.15
2009
7 September
Named in the International Co-Prosecutor’s Third Introductory Submission.16
2018
16 August
Indicted by the International Co-Investigating Judge, while the National Co-Investigating Judge dismissed his case.17
2019
19 December
Pre-Trial Chamber failed to reach a supermajority decision on the appeals against the conflicting Closing Orders.18
2020
10 August
Case terminated by Supreme Court Chamber for lack of definitive and enforceable indictment.19
Charges
The National Co-Investigating Judge dismissed the charges against Ao An, finding that the ECCC has no personal jurisdiction over him because he was not a senior leader nor among those most responsible for DK-era crimes. 20
Finding that Ao An was among one of those most responsible for DK-era crimes, the International Co-Investigating Judge indicted him for:
21
- Genocide
- Crimes against humanity
- Violations of the 1956 Penal Code.
- The Pre-Trial Chamber held that the Co-Investigating Judges erred in issuing two contradictory Closing Orders but did not reach the required supermajority for a decision on whether to send the case forward to trial or to dismiss it. 22
- Proceedings were terminated by Supreme Court Chamber due to the lack of a definitive and enforceable indictment. 23
Key Findings
The Co-Investigating Judges’ Closing Orders
Both Co-Investigating Judges found in the Case 004/2 Closing Orders that Ao An:
- Was not a member of the CPK Central or Standing Committees. 24
- Was a member of the Sector 25 Committee of the Southwest Zone before becoming a member of the Sector 35 Committee. 25
- Appointed by Ke Paul as Sector 41 Secretary in charge of general management, dissemination of CPK policies, rice farming and production, and ways to improve work performance. 26
- Appointed Deputy Secretary of the Central Zone in mid-1977. 27
- Was involved in giving orders to arrest and execute people, participated in dissemination of CPK policies targeting the cham, participated in and coordinated forced marriages in Sector 41, and participated in the purge of the East Zone. 28
The Dismissal Order
The National Co-Investigating Judge found that Ao An was not a senior leader or among those most responsible for DK-era crimes because he:
- Did not show an outstanding nature compared to those who were Sector Secretaries or Deputy Zone Secretaries in accordance with the principle of selective jurisdiction of the ECCC. 29
- Acted upon orders and instructions of Ke Pauk and his role was not officially appointed. 30
- Participated in the commission of crimes but not beyond the orders, authority, and control of Central Zone Secretary Ke Pauk. 31
- Did not found Kraing Ta Chan Security Centre and crime sites in Sector 13. 32
- Was non-autonomous, inactive, non-creative, and indirect in his participation in crimes. 33
- Did not participate in making the CPK policies. 34
The Indictment
The International Co-Investigating Judge found that Ao An was among those most responsible for DK-era crimes because he:
35
- Was a member of a joint criminal enterprise with Ke Pauk and other CPK leaders sharing the common purpose of implementing, in the Central Zone, the policies of establishing worksites and cooperatives, re-educating “bad elements” and killing “enemies”, targeting specific groups, and the regulation of marriage. 36
- Strove to remove systematically the existing Sector 41 administration and replace them with cadres from the Southwest Zone. 37
- Controlled and regularly visited security centres within Sector 41 to assess the purge and ensure his orders were fully implemented, coordinated large scale operations to arrest and kill the Party’s enemies, and received reports on matters of security and discipline, in which he reported to the Zone Committee. 38
- Dispatched sector military forces often for the arrest of individuals, re-education or execution. 39
- Was involved in administering the Central Zone, was responsible for construction projects in the entire Central Zone, attended meetings to plan the purge throughout the Central Zone and the implementation of the CPK’s policy, and discussed with Son Sen the need to transfer individuals from the East to the Northwest Zone for agricultural work. 40
- Played a crucial role in implementing the CPK’s economic and agricultural policies throughout the Central Zone by establishing worksites and cooperatives, monitoring progress of worksites in Sector 41, and hosting meetings to warn attendees that if they were unable to achieve production targets, they would be considered enemies of the revolution and deprived of food, sent for re-education, arrested, beaten, or “disappeared”. 41
- Was involved in transfer of people and resources in Sector 41, which required his express permission, with people who travelled without a permit being arrested. 42
- Ordered his district secretaries to identify and execute people who complained about their living working conditions. 43
- Was involved in inviting cadres in all three sectors in the Central Zone on the pretence to attend a study session but they would be arrested and sent to a security centre to be re-educated or killed upon arrival. 44
- Devised a plan whereby senior-ranking cadres were to be arrested and taken to Wat Phnom Pros Phnom Srei to be killed, while lower-ranking cadre and minor offenders were to be taken to the main Met Sop Security Centre or Wat Ta Meak Security Centre, and ordinary people were taken to Wat Batheay Security Centre. 45
- Actively led the purge of Sector 41 by identifying enemies to be purged, ordering his subordinates to carry out arrests and killings, closely monitoring the implementation of the purge by sending out his personal messenger to verify the arrested prisoners had been killed, providing logistical support, and using the Sector 41 Office as a key operational hub for purge activities. 46
- Instructed his subordinates to identify and arrest other specific groups of people and trick them to believe that they would be offered the same positions, before arresting and sending them for execution. 47
- Ordered the arrest, detention, and subsequent transferral or execution of the Cham, the Vietnamese, and other enemies of the CPK in Kampong Siem District. 48
- Arrested, re-educated, or killed people who had committed or were accused of committing minor offences, such as stealing food or committing moral misconduct. 49
- Was involved in arrest and transfer of East Zone cadres and civilians to be executed in the Central Zone. 50
- Continued to purge Sector 41 up until the end of DK despite the directive to cease the killing. 51
- Was involved in regulating marriages throughout Sector 41. 52
On Appeal of the Closing Orders
- The National Pre-Trial Chamber Judges upheld the National Co-Investigating Judge’s Dismissal Order, considering the International Co-Investigating Judge’s Closing Order as void. 53
- The International Pre-Trial Chamber Judges upheld the International Co-Investigating Judge’s Closing Order (Indictment), considering the Dismissal Order to be void. 54
Ultimate Disposition
- The Supreme Court Chamber held that, in light of the Co-Investigating Judges’ illegal actions in issuing two conflicting Closing Orders, neither Closing Order was valid and in the absence of a definite and enforceable indictment, the case against Ao An was terminated before the ECCC. 55
Counsel
Mr. Mom Luch, Mr. Richard Rogers, Mr. Göran Sluiter
Related Documents
Interviews
- Interview with Aa An, 1 August 2011, E3/8987.
- Transcript of Ao An, 3 January 2017, E3/8987a.