Case 002 Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties

Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties who have appeared in Case 002. Click on photo for larger version.

HINTON Alexander Laban

The Expert Witness will be examined on: the history of the CPK; the origins and evolution of CPK policies
towards the Vietnamese and Buddhists; the implementation and evolution of these policies during the DK period; use of CPK and DK propaganda and language generally in the context of genocidal violence; perpetrator motivations; and the operation of S-21 Security Centre.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 14 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 15 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 16 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 17 March 2016
NETH Savat, alias NET Tha

The witness, who worked as deputy chief of the Sector 105 economics unit, describes his own arrest and imprisonment together with his family members and other cadres connected to deceased Sector Deputy Secretary Kham Phoun in late 1977. He was initially detained at the Sector office (K -17) and later sent for tempering at the Nang Khilik worksite .. He also describes the Phnom Kraol Security Centre. The witness identifies senior Sector 105 and Division 920 cadres who were arrested and imprisoned at S-21 or the Sector security offices, and authenticates a number of DK biographies from such cadres. He also explains reasons for arrests in the area, which included being suspected of having Vietnamese connections. He describes the classifications of enemies by the CPK.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 11 March 2016
CHAN Toi, alias CHAN Tauy

The Witness, who was a messenger for the Koh Nhek District Secretary, describes the authority structure of 
Sector 105 and his own arrest, imprisonment and interrogation at the Phnom Kraol Security Centre. The 
Witness was part of a group of over 80 people connected to Sector Deputy Secretary Kham Phoun who were 
arrested in late 1977. He describes the inhumane and unhygienic conditions in which prisoners were held, the
removal of several prisoners for execution and his subsequent transfer to the Nang Khilik worksite.

[Corrected 1] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 10 March 2016
Mr. Van Mat

 2-TCW-893, Mr Van Mat, alias Mat Tauch, was born on November 9, 1953, in Chumnik village, Chumnik commune, Krouch Chhmar district, Kampong Cham province. He is Cham and current lives in Kratie province, where he is a military officer working as a bodyguard of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Before the Khmer Rouge the population of his village was half Cham and half Khmer. He estimates some 10,000 villagers were Cham. At the time there were other ethnic groups such as hakims, hajis and tuons, who were later sent away and killed. Mr Van Mat studied at the mosque until the Khmer Rouge arrived in 1976. Religion, Cham language, and ethnic practices were banned, and his village was evacuated to Kampong Thom. All Korans were collected and burned, and the mosque became the place to keep cattle. According to the witness, religious people, teachers and most Cham people were arrested accused of being CIA agents, and were sent to a security centre located in Khsach Prachheh, in Krouch Chhmar district. He remained in the village with half of the Cham population until his relocation in 1978, after the liberation of Phnom Penh. He was relocated for three months with his family to work in the jungle next to Boeng Krachab, in Tboung Khmum district, where he worked in a mobile unit building dams. His unit had both Khmer and Cham people. Mr Van Mat recalls the purge of Eastern zone cadres who were accused of betraying Angkar and fought against the Central Zone.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 09 March 2016
MOEURNG Chandy

Witness, MOEURNG Chandy, testified about living condition and the life of prisoners in Au Kanseng security center. She testified to being made to return to work shortly after giving birth. Armed guards always supervised prisoners whilst they are working. Prisoners worked hard and did not dare to walk without permission for fear of being shot dead. they were confined by bamboo spikes that surrounded the prison and prevented escape.  

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 03 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 07 March 2016
Mr PHON Thol

2-TCW-933. Born on 16 June 1950 in Rongoeun, Svay Rieng district, Svay Rieng province, Mr Phon Thol currently lives in Ratanakiri province. He is the ex-husband of witness Ms. Moeurng Chandy, 2-TCW-867. They separated in 1986 and Mr Phon Thol married another woman. The couple worked in a rubber plantation from 1962 until 1977. After the evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975, the Khmer Rouge set up a union to manage the rubber plantation. The witness was arrested on 16 June 1977 and sent to Au Kanseng re-education centre with other union workers and his wife, Ms. Moeurng Chandy. Mr Phon Thol was interrogated without suffering physical harm. He was accused of belonging to the upper class and using modern techniques of the feudalist class instead of farmer’s techniques. His wife was pregnant at the time of the arrest and their daughter was born in prison.

Through the cracks in the bamboo wall of his cell, Mr Phon Thol witnessed the arrival of a Jarai group to the re-education centre. He estimated some 100 men, women and children were brought in two trucks. The group stayed less than a week and, through the cracks of his cell wall, he saw how they were walked away from the prison by Au Kanseng security guards. Two days later the witness was assigned to work in the jackfruit plantation 1 km away from the compound of the education centre. Under the palm trees he saw a grave with half buried bodies. At the rim of that grave there were blood and personal belongings he believed belonged to the Jarai group that, at that point, he suspected had been killed. While working at the jackfruit plantation keeping people away from the land, the witness saw how people were killed by security guards of the education center. The bodies were thrown into trenches dug by former Lon Nol soldiers. One time a security guard asked Mr Phon Thol to bury a body of a prisoner who tried to escape. On a different occasion the witness heard a guard telling people how he had slashed a woman’s back open and removed her gallbladder and hung it in the kitchen. The woman worked in the rubber plantation and had been accused of immoral acts.

Mr Phon Thol was not harmed during interrogations, but he saw how other prisoners were beaten and electrocuted. He described the living conditions at the re-education center and the treatment of prisoners. He managed to escape the center in December 1978 during a Vietnamese offensive.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 02 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 03 March 2016
UCH Sunlay

Civil Party, UCH Sunlay, testified to the harm he suffered a result of the treatment of the Vietnamese during Democratic Kampuchea. 

[Corrected 2] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 01 March 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 02 March 2016
KHOUY Muoy, alias KHAUNG Muoy

The Civil Party describes the persecution of the Vietnamese in the Prey Nup District, including the
disappearance of 12 family members, who she was told were taken to Koh Kyang village and killed.

[Corrected 2] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 01 March 2016
MEU Peou (MOEU Pov)

Mr. Meu Peou is a 55 year- old farmer from Bakan District, Pursat Province and is Cham.  As a Civil Party, he testified during the segment where Civil Parties were called to testify about harm they suffered in relation to the treatment of alleged targeted groups; Cham, Vietnamese and former Lon Nol officials. During his testimony before the Chamber, he reported that he was forced to leave his native village and separate from his family members and relatives once the Khmer Rouge took over control over his area. Mr. Meu stressed how miserable life was under the DK regime, explaining how the Cham were not allowed to practice their religion anymore and were forced to eat pork, which ultimately caused the death of his father, who had adhered to his religion and refused to follow Angkar’s orders. Mr. Meu testified that throughout the DK period, he lost a total of 17 family members and relatives including his father, uncle,and several nieces and nephews. He said he was arrested in 1977 and then detained at Trah Kraol detention facility, where he was forced to watch the brutal killing of a woman, who had to take her clothes off before being cut. 

[Corrected 1] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 29 February 2016
Mr MAN Sles

Mr. MAN is a former fisherman from Kampong Cham Province.  As a Civil Party, he testified during the segment where Civil Parties were called to testify about harm they suffered in relation to the treatment of alleged targeted groups; Cham, Vietnamese and former Lon Nol officials. Describing the suffering inflicted on Cham people during the Khmer Rouge regime, Mr. Man elaborated on how they were not allowed to practice their religion any longer and were forced to eat pork. Mr. Man and his father were part of a group of 50-60 Cham men to be arrested one day, as they were accused of being internal enemies and for taking part in a rebellion movement. Whilst the CP as well as most of the other men were actually released a week later, Mr. Meu testified that his father along with four other men with influencial roles within the village were never released.  

[Corrected 1] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 29 February 2016
Ms SIENG Chanthy

55-year-old Ms. Sieng from Svay Rieng province stems from a mixed Khmer-Vietnamese family. As a Civil Party, she testified during the segment where Civil Parties were called to testify about harm they suffered in relation to the treatment of alleged targeted groups; Cham, Vietnamese and former Lon Nol officials. She elaborated before the Chamber about her father’s suicide, which had resulted from severe emotional distress during the Khmer Rouge regime. She explained the poor living conditions her family struggled with during that time.. Mr. Sieng reported that one of her brothers was arrested and heavily tortured following an incident where he had accidentally injured a cow while working on the fields, and that he another brother subseqently were killed..  She also said she afraid that she would be raped and killed, because her father was Vietnamese.

 

[Corrected 1] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 29 February 2016 , Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 01 March 2016
MEAS Voeun, alias SVAY Voeun

Mr. MEAS Voeun, born in Srae Khlong village, Phnom Srok district, Kampong Speu province. Prior to testifying in Case 002/02 he was also called as a witness in Case 002/01. The witness was a regiment commander when the Khmer Rouge forces took control over Phnom Penh in April 1975. After 1975 he was stationed for three years at Koh Kong  as Deputy Commander of Division 1. In 1978 he was transferred  to Preah Vihear. He described the CPK hiarchy and command structure in his division and in the west zone.. His testimony covered the treatment of former Lon Nol soldiers and the treatment of the Vietnamese, as well as internal enemies and plans for  internal coup’ d’etat. The witness recalled instructions that former Lon Nol soldiers who raised a white flag were not to be harmed.  According to the witness, Vietnamese and Khmer people were enemies before he was born, however, during the regime unarmed Vietnamese civilians were not considered enemies. When Vietnamese were captured after 1975, they were according to the witness sent to the upper echelon and he had no idea what happened to them.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 02 February 2016, [Corrected 4] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 03 February 2016
Mr. SAO Van

Mr. SAO Van, born in 1941 Takéo Province, Tram Kak District was a member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). Prior to testifying in Case 002/02, he was also called as a witness during the appeal hearings in Case 002/01 in July 2015. In 1976 he was appointed commune chief in Kampong Svay in Kien Svay District. He was questioned about food rations in the different places he lived during the DK regime. According to the witness, food was insufficient some places, whereas in other places sufficient food was available. As a CPK official he attended a number of meetings including one he recalled where instructions were  iven not to harm former Lon Nol soldiers of a certain rank. He never witnessed the mistreatment of soldiers from the former regime. He further elaborated on the structure of the CPK in his province. Questioned about the treatment of the Vietnamese in 1975, the witness explained that the five Vietnamese families living in his commune was to be gathered at a pagoda and sent back to Vietnam, and that there were instructions not to harm them or their property. He also said that his brother was identified as a former Lon Nol official and was sent to a re-education center.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 01 February 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 02 February 2016
Mr. SANN Lorn

Mr. Sann Lorn, 73, was born in Prah Keab Village, Tram Kok District, Takeo Province. He now lives Sre Chrey Village in Chhak Roka commune, Samlaut. Mr. Lorn's testimony highlighted his knowledge on the deportations that happened among the Vietnamese during the Khmer Rouge regime. He said that he rounded up and transported Vietnamese people for four days sometime after 1975, after which he never saw these people ever again. Mr. Lorn also confirmed that he was the younger brother-in-law of Ta Mok, which he believed to be a supreme leader and the second-in-line behind Pol Pot. Witness lived in Tram Kok District the entire time until 1975 where he worked as a messenger at the commune level and for the district committee. He added that he used to work as a messenger for Yeay Khom, the daughter of Ta Mok.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 28 January 2016
Ms. IN Yoeung

Although Ms. In Yoeung cannot specify the exact year of birth, she estimates her date of birth to be 1960 – making her approximately 15 years old when Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge. Born in Chheu Phleung village, Svay Rieng province, she was transferred to Ro Prasoutr to work in a mobile unit at the beginning of the period of Democratic Kampuchea. Ms. In Yoeung provided testimony on a variety of topics including the treatment of Vietnamese, although very briefly. The main focus of her testimony revealed living conditions in both mobile units and cooperatives, and relating to  organized marriages. She stated in her testimony that she was required by “Angkar” (the regime) to marry, lest she be sent to a detention facility. She was also motivated to marry for the fact that upon being married she would be transferred from her mobile unit to a cooperative – where the living conditions were considered to be better. During her testimony, Ms. In Yoeung confirms that there was artillery fire near where she worked during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, near the border between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 27 January 2016, [Corrected 4] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 03 February 2016
Ms. DOUNG Oeurn

75 years old, Civil Party Ms. Doung Oeurn testifies before the Trial Chamber to clarify her experiences during the Khmer Rouge Regime. Her testimony is centered on the treatment of Vietnamese during Democractic Kampuchea, with an emphasis on her own husband, an ethnic Vietnamese named Chuy. Ms. Doung recalls the day when her husband was taken away, ostensibly to work, and never returned. Testimony further reveals that a woman in the community who was ethnically Vietnamese was also taken away, as was her children, also never returned. Mother to a child with her late husband, Ms. Doung credits her Khmer background, and that she renamed her child to accord with Khmer nomenclature, that her child survived the regime.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 25 January 2016
Mr. PRUM Sarat

Mr. Prum Sarat, 67, worked as a regiment and marine vessel commander during the Khmer Rouge regime. His testimony focused on the evidence concerning the chain of command, authority figures in his division, as well as the statements delivered by Pol Pot and Khieu Samphan. He mentioned that he used to work for Khieu Samphan back in 1991 as a member of his security force. Mr. Sarat testified that there was an order to kill all of the Vietnamese, including mothers and babies, during the DK regime because they were considered as hereditary enemies. He also confirmed hearing about the killing of the Lon Nol Soldiers sometime in 1975 or 1976 from some cadres.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 25 January 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 26 January 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 27 January 2016
Mr. Lach Kry

Approximately 68 years of age, Civil Party Mr. LACH Kry provides his testimony to the Trial Chamber via video link. Having lived in Pou Chentam during Democratic Kampuchea, Mr. Lach lived in a village in which 3 families were known to be of Vietnamese origin. The testimony of Mr. Lach reveals that his brother lost his wife and children, leading to a period of severe emotional instability. After the disappearance of his wife and children, Mr. Lach’s brother was forced to remarry. Mr. Lach also elaborated on social relations between Vietnamese and Khmer people before and after the period of Democratic Kampuchea, describing them as normal.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 20 January 2016
PRAK Yut

This witness testified in a closed session so there is no publicly available information regarding his/her testimony.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 18 January 2016
YOU Vann

This witness testified in a closed session so there is no publicly available information regarding his/her testimony.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 14 January 2016 , Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 18 January 2016
Ms. Math Sor

Of Cham ethnicity, Ms. MATH Sor was born in approximately 1961 in Kampong Cham province. The testimony of Ms. Math offers personal insight into the treatment of the Cham people during Democratic Kampuchea. She describes being arrested and detained, and how she was able to avoid being selected for execution – surviving by lying about her ethnic origin. The witness also recounts visceral details of executions, including victims pleading with KR cadres not to be raped. Additional details surrounding the treatment of Cham people were revealed, including the forced eating of pork.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 13 January 2016
Mr.SAY Doeun

Mr. SAY Doeun, approximately 68 years old from Kampong Cham province is the next witness in January proceedings. The witness testified that he was a member of the Long Swords Group (LSG), tasked to ensure that workers in the rice fields did not steal any rice and to patrol surrounding villages. The LSG was also responsible for effecting arrests. In one instance he was ordered to arrest all Cham people indiscriminately. Following a brief tenure as a member of the LSG, the witness was then appointed village chief in a nearby village. The testimony of Mr. SÂY provides insight into the orders delivered by senior leaders in the Khmer Rouge in relation to the treatment of Cham people.

[Corrected 2] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 12 January 2016
MUY Vanny

Mr. MUY Vanny, from Kampong Cham province, 49 years old at the time of his testimony, worked in a District Mobile Unit (DMU), stationed in Sdau commune for a period of just over two years. The DMU contained not only Khmer, but also 25-30 Cham people as estimated by the witness. Mr. Muy testified to witnessing his Cham colleagues being marched away as he returned to his DMU one evening. It was rumoured among the DMU that those who were led away were executed at Wat Autrakoun. Testimony revealed that these individuals were known to be Cham as they did not make an effort to conceal their identity early in the Khmer Rouge period. They also spoke Khmer with an accent and had ethnic names. For a period of approximately half a year, Mr. Muy described his role as that of a messenger for the Chief of Security at Wat Au Trakoun Security Centre, Hoeun. The testimony provided insight into the structure and operation of the DMU. The testimony also revealed conditions of those being held at Wat Autrakoun.

[Corrected 2] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 11 January 2016, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 12 January 2016
Mr. THANG Phal

Mr. THANG Phal, of Prey Veaeng district, estimates he was 24 years old at the beginning of the Democratic Kampuchea regime. He came before the court to recall his subjugation to the Khmer Rouge – that he was labelled as the son of a capitalist and was forced into labor for the duration of the regime. Mr. Thang also elaborated a criterion that was used to determine the fate of children belonging to mixed ethnicity families. The children would be arrested and would disappear if the mother was Vietnamese, but if only the father was Vietnamese and the mother Khmer, the children would be spared. Mr. Thang did note, however, that none of his testimony can be substantiated from first-hand knowledge. Rather, this information was conveyed through anecdotes and rumors among his fellow villagers. Concluding his testimony, Mr. THANG Phal confirmed that he had heard of gunfire and artillery shelling as the Vietnamese army began to encroach upon Cambodian territory in 1979.

[Redacted] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 05 January 2016, [Corrected 2] Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 06 January 2016
PAK Sok

Witness 2-TCW-1000 was a former Khmer Rouge soldier. He received naval training before joining the Khmer rouge army. 2-TCW-1000 testified that Ta Meas Muth was the commander of his division (Division 164) and that his division had orders to arrest motorboats that were not part of the navy and report on the ethnicity of the occupants. 2-TCW-1000 remembers Vietnamese people getting arrested at sea, taken at the Ouchheuteal port  and being beaten afterwards even when they were unarmed.

Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 16 December 2015, Transcript of hearing on the substance in Case 002/02 – 05 January 2016

Pagination