Nuon Chea

Nuon Chea (his name at birth was Lao Kim Lorn) studied law at Bangkok's prestigious Thammasat University, where he became a member of the Thai Communist Party.

Appointed Deputy Secretary of the CPK in 1960, he retained this position and his membership in the CPK’s Standing Committee throughout the period of Democratic Kampuchea.

He remained with the Khmer Rouge until reaching a deal with the Cambodian government in December 1998 that allowed him to live near the Thai border.

Photo


Alias
Brother Number Two
Date of Birth
Place of birth
Voat Kor village, Battambang province
Arrested date
Defence counsel
Son Arun (Cambodia) and Ms. Doreen Chen (Australia)
Alleged Position in Democratic Kampuchea

Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, member of the Standing Committee and Central Committee of Communist Party of Kampuchea, Chairman of the Democratic Kampuchea People’s Assembly.

According to the Closing Order, Nuon Chea was allegedly also a member of the Military Committee of the Central Committee, however he disputes that he was had been a member of said committee.

Status of case

Nuon Chea has been indicted and sent to trial for crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and genocide; offences which are defined and punishable under Articles 4,5, 6, 29 (New) and 39 (New) of the Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers as amended on 27 October 2004.

The charges against Nuon Chea have been separated (severed) into two trials (Case 002/01 and Case 002/02).

The initial hearing in Case 002/01 was held from 27-30 June 2011,  the substantive part of the trial  commenced with opening statements on 21 November 2011, and ended with final statements on 31 October 2013.The trial judgment was pronounced on 7 August 2014.

Nuon Chea was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment. On 23 November 2016, the Supreme Court Chamber quashed part of the convictions but affirmed life imprisonment for Nuon Chea in Case 002/01. 

Trial hearings in Case 002/02 commenced on 17 October 2014. The presentation of evidence started on 8 January 2015 and concluded on 11 January 2017.

Closing statements were held from 13 -23 June 2017. The trial judgment in Case 002/02 is expected in the second quarter of 2018. 

On 16 November 2018, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) convicted NUON Chea of genocide, crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Key indictment allegations

Nuon Chea is alleged to be responsible, through his acts or omissions (committed via a joint criminal enterprise), for having planned, instigated, ordered, or aided and abetted, or being responsible by virtue of superior responsibility, for the following crimes committed between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979: 

  • Crimes against humanity (murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation imprisonment, torture, persecution on political, racial, and religious grounds and other inhumane acts)
  • Genocide, by killing members of the groups of Vietnamese and Cham 
  • Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (wilful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or civilian the rights of fair and regular trial, unlawful deportation or unlawful confinement of a civilian)
Cases Case 002Case 002/01Case 002/02
Date
Second Decision on the Release and Notification of Documents Reclassified as “Public” with Redaction in Case File 002 F90
First Decision on the Release and Notification of Documents Reclassified as “Public” with Redaction in Case File 002 F89
Order Scheduling Pronouncement of Appeal Judgment F72
Annex: Pre-Trial Chamber Interoffice Memorandum concerning Confidential and Public Redacted Documents in Case File 002 Proposed for Reclassification to Public F67.1
Pre-Trial Chamber Interoffice Memorandum concerning Confidential and Public Redacted Documents in Case File 002 Proposed for Reclassification to Public F67
Declaration of a possible conflict of interest F53/7
Termination of access to the ECCC email system, Zylab and notifications F46/6
Decision on Urgent Request concerning the Impact on Appeal Proceedings of NUON Chea’s Death Prior to the Appeal Judgement F46/2/4/2
Termination of Court funded legal aid for the NUON Chea Defence Team F46/5.1
Re: Imminent termination F46/5
Co-Prosecutors’ Response to the Urgent Request concerning the Impact on Appeal Proceedings of Nuon Chea’s Death prior to the Appeal Judgement (F46/2) F46/2/4
Decision on Co-Prosecutors’ Urgent Request to File Their Response to the Nuon Chea Defence Team’s Urgent Request in One Language F46/2/3
Table of authorities for Co-Prosecutors’ Urgent Request to File Their Response to the Nuon Chea Defence Team’s Urgent Request in English First F46/2/2.1
Authority 1: Notification email from the Case File Officer dated 16 August 2019 at 3:32 p.m F46/2/2.1.1
Co-Prosecutors’ Urgent Request to File Their Response to the Nuon Chea Defence Team’s Urgent Request in English First F46/2/2
Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyer’s Response to Nuon Chea’s Urgent Request Concerning the Impact on Appeal Proceedings of Nuon Chea’s Death Prior to the Appeal Judgement F46/2/1
Attachment 4: Case of the “Juvenile Reeducation Institute” v. Paraguay (Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs), Judgment of September 2, 2004, para. 299. [http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/68d36c/] F46/2/1.1.4
Attachment 2: Case of the Plan de Sánchez Massacre v. Guatemala (Reparations), Judgment of November 19, 2004, para. 81. [http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/e8533d/] F46/2/1.1.2
Attachment 7: The Center for Justice & Accountability, Proposed Amendment of Internal Rule 23quinquies(3), http://cja.org/downloads/Plenary%20Paper%20Rule%2023.pdf p. 3 F46/2/1.1.7
Table of authorities for Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyer’s Response to Nuon Chea’s Urgent Request Concerning the Impact on Appeal Proceedings of Nuon Chea’s Death Prior to the Appeal Judgement F46/2/1.1
Attachment 5: Case of Ricardo Canese v. Paraguay (Merits, Reparations and Costs), Judgment of August 31, 2004, para. 205. [http://www.legal-tools.org/doc/477653/] F46/2/1.1.5
Attachment 3: Case of Tibi v. Ecuador (Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment of September 07, 2004, para. 243. [http://legal-tools.org/doc/b7446b/] F46/2/1.1.3
Attachment 1: A/RES/60/147, General Assembly, Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, 21 March 2006 F46/2/1.1.1
Attachment 6: The Center for Justice & Accountability, Victims’ Right to Remedy, https://cja.org/what-we-do/litigation/khmer-rouge-trials/related-resources/victims-right-to-remedy/ F46/2/1.1.6
Co-prosecutors’ response to the urgent request to reinstate the Nuon Chea defence team F46/4/1