Case 002 Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties

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

IM Sunthy

Alongside her daughter Phung Guth Sunthary, Im Sunthy submitted a Civil Party application in order to preserve the memory of her husband Phung Ton, who was detained at S-21, and to find out the truth concerning his fate.  

Phung Ton was the former Dean of the Royal University of Phnom Penh and a law professor specializing in international law. He left Cambodia on 16 March 1975 to attend a conference on the law of the sea in Geneva. After the Khmer rouge seized power, he returned to Cambodia on 25 December 1975 in order to reunite with his family, but was never able to do so. On 12 December 1976, he was arrested and transferred to S-21. The last S-21 document referring to him is dated 6 July 1977. Im Sunthy and her family lived with the hope that Phung Ton was safe in Europe until they discovered his fate in 1979. As a Civil Party, Im Sunthy told the Trial Chamber about the immense suffering she has experienced, which led her to consider committing suicide several times. She said that time has only intensified her grief and that today she is only able to survive due to medication.

Im Sunthy described the difficulties of being a widow and having to raise seven children without her husband. 

Transcript of Proceedings - "Duch" Trial - 19 August 2009
PHUNG Guth Sunthary

Alongside her mother Im Sunthy, Phung Guth Sunthary submitted a Civil Party application in order to preserve the memory of her father Phung Ton, who was detained at S-21, and to find out the truth concerning his fate.

Phung Ton was the former Dean of the University of Phnom Penh, a Law Professor specializing in international law. He left Cambodia on 16 March 1975 to attend a conference on law of the sea in Geneva. After the Khmer rouge seized power, he returned to Cambodia on 25 December 1975 in order to reunite with his family, but was never able to do so. On 12 December 1976, he was arrested and transferred to S-21. The last S-21 document referring to him is dated 6 July 1977. Im Sunthy and her family lived with the hope that Phung Ton was safe in Europe until they discovered his fate in 1979. As a Civil Party, Phung Guth Sunthary told the Trial Chamber childhood and adolescent memories of her father. She described the suffering she experienced alongside her family, a suffering which only deepened with time. She told the Trial Chamber about the research her family undertook in order to discover the truth regarding Phung Ton's fate.

Phung Guth Sunthary put three questions to the Accused: "Who made the decision to kill her father?" "What were the tortures inflicted upon him?" "Who decided to transfer him to S-21?" 

Transcript of Proceedings - "Duch" Trial - 19 August 2009
Mr. SEANG Vandy

Seang Vandy was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of his younger brother Seang Phon, who was executed at S-21.

Seang Vandy filed a Civil Party application to search for justice, make a claim for reparations, and to preserve the memory of his brother Seang Phon. Seang Vandy followed Prince Norodom Sihanoukís appeal to join the Khmer Rouge in the early 1970ís. His two younger brothers, Seang Phon and Seang Phat, were forced to join the Khmer Rouge army in 1973. They never returned. In late 2007 or early 2008, Seang Vandy learned through DC-Camís magazine Searching for the Truth that Seang Phon was arrested on 2 October 1977 and brought to S-21 where he was killed. There Seang Phon found two records of his confessions. As a Civil Party, Seang Vandy told the Trial Chamber about his suffering and that of his family since the disappearance of his brother Seang Phon. Since he discovered the fate of his brother, he has not been able to sleep well and experiences despair and hopelessness.

Seang Vandy put the following questions to the Accused: "Did he know his brother as an S-21 detainee?" "Did he read and annotate his brothersí confessions?" "How can the Accused claim that he is a patriotic person and that he followed the political line if he killed Khmer nationals?"

 

Transcript of Proceedings - "Duch" Trial - 19 August 2009
Ms.SO Soung

SO Soung'sCivil Party application rejected by the Trial Chamber. The Trial Chamber found that the photograph from the Tuol Sleng archives submitted by So Soung does not provide an attestation of the identity of Meas Sun and that So Soung did not provide proof of any dependency or special bonds of affection toward her brother-in-law.  

The summary of this Civil Party's testimony is included for the purpose of providing information on what was actually said in the Courtroom during the trial. The inclusion of this summary does not imply that the Trial Chamber accepted the testimony as facts related to the Accused. So Soung filed a Civil Party application on the basis of the disappearance of her brother-in-law Meas Sun on 28 November 1978 and his death at S-21. As a Civil Party, she also wanted to represent her sister, who was unable to participate as a Civil Party herself due to illness. So Soung was brought up by her elder sister and her brother-in-law since the age of seven, and thus considered both as her parents.

During her testimony, So Soung described the hopeless situation she and her sisterís family have faced due to the absence of her brother-in-law. In addition to psychological suffering, the family has struggled with poverty and her nieces and nephews have been deprived of an education.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 18 August 2009
Mr. NETH Phally

Neth Phally was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of his brother Neth Bunthy, a Khmer Rouge soldier from the Eastern Zone who was detained and killed at S-21. After the disappearance of his brother in 1978, Neth Phally maintained hope of being reunited for thirty years, despite the fact that he had actively searched for his brother from February to October 1979 without any luck. He and his family were deeply shocked to learn in 2008 that his brother had been detained, tortured, and killed at S-21. During his testimony, Neth Phally described the suffering he endured, as well as the suffering of his parents and of his brother's fiancÈe. Emotionally distressed since his brother's disappearance, he endured a severe work injury which caused his left arm to be amputated.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 18 August 2009
Ms. Antonya Tioulong

Tioulong Antonya was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the disappearance and execution of both her sister Tioulong Raingsy and her brother-in-law Kimari Lim.

She testified on behalf of her family. Her mother Measketh Samphotre, her sister Tioulong-Rohmer Neva, her niece Kimari Nevinka, and her nephew Kimari Visaka all participated in the trial as Civil Parties. They were exiled in France when they received Raingsy and Lim's last letter, dated 28 March 1975. Raingsy and Lim had planned to reunite with their family and children in France in the summer of 1975. But everything changed when the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh. Raingsy and her husband Lim were evacuated and in November 1975, both were arrested and detained at S-21. They were executed in April and May 1976, respectively. As a Civil Party, Tioulong Antonya told the Trial Chamber how it was only in 1979 that her family discovered the fate of her sister and brother-in-law, despite many efforts to locate them.

She described her family's suffering and rejected the apologies of the Accused, saying that her family would never forgive him.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 18 August 2009
Ms. HAV Sophea

Hav Sophea was a Civil Party from group 1 in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of her father Chen Sea alias Hav Han, who was detained and killed at S-21 on 15 May 1976.

Chen Sea was a Khmer Rouge cadre who had returned from Hanoi. As a Civil Party, Hav Sophea testified on the effects of the absence of her father, both on her life and on that of her mother. She told the Trial Chamber that her father disappeared in early 1976, exactly 21 days before she was born. Her mother was waiting for her husband to return until 1991 and both were shocked to learn from DC-Cam in 2006 that he had been executed at S-21. Hav Sophea recalled how her mother was deeply distressed when they visited Tuol Sleng in January 2007.

Hav Sophea described how she and her mother have struggled "financially, physically, emotionally" to survive since her fatherís disappearance. Hav Sophea had to drop out of school at Grade 7 and could not become a Khmer literature teacher as she had wished.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 18 August 2009
Ms. Ouk Neary

Ouk Neary was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of her father Ouk Ket.

She is the daughter of Civil Party Martine Lefeuvre, who also testified in Case 001. In 1977, while serving as third secretary to the Cambodian Embassy in Senegal, Ouk Ket received a request to return to Phnom Penh from the Foreign Ministry of Cambodia. He decided to heed this request and arrived in Phnom Penh on 11 June 1977. On 15 June 1977, he was detained at S-21 until he was executed on 9 December 1977. Ouk Neary barely knew her father, as she was only two years old when he left for Cambodia. However, she told the Trial Chamber about the suffering she endured not only because of his absence, but also due to the fact that he had been tortured and executed under terrible circumstances at S-21.

She described her first visit to the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in 1991 when she was 16 years old as "the most tremendous shock of [her] life".

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 17 August 2009
Ms. Martine Lefeuvre

Martine Lefeuvre was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of her husband Ouk Ket. In 1977 while serving as third secretary to the Cambodian Embassy in Senegal, Ouk Ket received a request to return to Phnom Penh by the Foreign Ministry of Cambodia.

He decided to follow this request and arrived in Phnom Penh on 11 June 1977. On 15 June 1977, he was detained at S-21 until he was executed on 9 December 1977. During her testimony, Martine Lefeuvre told the Trial Chamber about her search for her husband, which she started as early as September 1977. It was only in 1979, while visiting a refugee camp at the Thai-Cambodian border, that she learned that he had been killed at Tuol Sleng. In 1991, she returned to Cambodia with her two children in order to find his records in the Tuol Sleng archives.

Martine Lefeuvre described her suffering, as well as the that of her children, due to the absence of her husband, arguing that this suffering became more intense over time. Ouk Neary, Martine Lefeuvreís daughter, also participated as a Civil Party to the proceedings and testified on the same trial day.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 17 August 2009
M. Robert Hamill

Robert Hamill was a civil party in Case 001 after suffering the loss of his brother Kerry Hamill, who had been detained and killed at S-21.

Kerry Hamill, 26, was on a sailing trip when her boat drifted in Cambodian waters. After being assaulted by bullets by a Cambodian boat, he is captured with a John Dewhurst and brought to S-21, where he is interrogated and then killed. As a civil party, Robert Hamill described to the Trial Chamber how his family had been destroyed by the uncertainty surrounding his brother's fate. His family had received one last letter from Kerry from Singapore in July 1978. After 16 months of no news from him, his family learned from a local newspaper that Kerry Hamill had been captured, tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime. During his testimony, Robert Hamill expressed the immense pain and suffering that he and each of his family members endured as a result of Kerry's death. He recounted how eight months after hearing of Kerry’s death, Robert, one of Kerry’s brothers and whom he was very close to, threw himself off a cliff.

Robert Hamill put six questions to the Accused concerning the date and details of the deaths of his brother and John Dewhurst. He also wanted to know if the Accused had any concrete ideas on how he could help the victims of S-21.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 17 August 2009
Ms. Nam Mon

Nam Mon filed a Civil Party application on the basis of her detention at S-21 and S-24, as well as on behalf of her parents and her brothers who were detained and executed at S-21.

Nam Mon told the Trial Chamber that both of her parents joined the Khmer Rouge revolution early. She herself joined as a member of the S-21 medical staff at age 15 in mid-1975. After the arrest and execution of two of her uncles, her father, whom she described as Chief of Logistics in Phnom Penh, was arrested in 1977 and executed at S-21. One of her two elder brothers, who were S-21 guards, was ordered to execute him. Shortly after, her mother, her younger brother, and later her two elder brothers, who worked as S-21 guards, were arrested and executed. Nam Mon was herself arrested in early 1978. After three months she was transferred to S-24, where she was assigned to dig pits to bury dead children. She told the Chamber that from there she was sent to another detention facility. As she was taken to be killed, the Vietnamese troops arrived and she was able to escape and survive. Nam Mon was asked by the Trial Chamber to describe the detention facilities, the detention conditions both at S-21 and S-24, as well as to recount her work as a medic at S-21.

Her Civil Party lawyer had informed the Trial Chamber that her testimony represented the first time that she had revealed parts of her experience under the Khmer Rouge, even to her family.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 09 July 2009, Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 13 July 2009
Ms. Chin Met

Chin Met filed a Civil Party application on the basis of her internment at S-24 and on behalf of her colleagues of Division 450 who died under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Chin Met told the Trial Chamber how she was forcibly recruited by the Khmer Rouge army as a teenager. In 1976 she was assigned to rice farming before being transferred to a rubber factory in mid to late 1977. In her testimony, Chin Met recounted her arrest in November 1977 at the age of 19. She was transferred to a detention facility that she cannot identify, as she was blindfolded while being relocated. There she was interned for 15 days and was interrogated and tortured three times. She was then transferred to S-24 for re-education. She described the extremely hard conditions of forced labor, malnutrition, and the constant need to meet work targets.

She spoke of her despair, which led her to attempt to commit suicide. She recalled her constant fear and exhaustion, all of which have left her with emotional problems and physical scarring.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 08 July 2009, Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 09 July 2009
Mr. Chan Lay

Lay Chan filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21.

Lay Chan joined the revolutionary forces before 1975. After being wounded in the battlefield, he was assigned to work as a messenger at the Kilometer 6 Port. In 1976 he was arrested and accused of participating in the theft of rice for the enemy. Lay Chan recounted how he overheard guards at the detention facility mentioning it as the "Tuol Sleng school". There he was interrogated and severely beaten twice to the point of losing consciousness. He told the Trial Chamber that he still suffers from the consequences of these interrogation sessions, notably an inability to hear with his left ear. After about three months of detention, Lay Chan was released and sent to a re-education section. After one year there, he was sent back to the Kilometer 6 Port and assigned to grow rice and vegetables.

 Lay Chan was asked by the Trial Chamber to testify on the detention conditions, the detention facilities, and the interrogation sessions.

 Lay Chan told the Trial Chamber that since his detention in 1976, he had never spoken about his experience and suffering.

Transcript of Proceedings - “DUCH” Trial (Trial Day 40)
Mr. Khan Phaok

Phaok Khan filed a Civil Party application on the basis of the disappearance and deaths of his cousin and his wife, as well as on the basis of his own arrest and detention.

Phaok Khan told the Trial Chamber about his arrest in Tuol Kork in 1978. He had joined the Khmer Rouge in 1971 at age 15. He was transferred, blindfolded, to a detention center which he believes was S-21. There he was interrogated and tortured twice. After three to four months of detention, on 6 January 1979, he was taken away to a killing field. When taken near a pit to be killed, he avoided the blow aimed at his neck. He was hit in his ribs and fell unconscious into the pit. He was later able to leave the pit, reach the river, and let himself be carried upon a wooden plank  to the Chroy Changvar bridge where he was rescued.

 His cousin Chhoeung Phoam alias Tin Neth worked at Battalion 317, a disciplinary unit. He was arrested on 3 November 1977 and executed on 7 November 1977 at S-21. Phaok Khan was able to find documents on his cousin in the Tuol Sleng archives.

 Phaok Khan's wife Pin Lin alias Pin Leab worked in a sewing unit, Division 310. She was arrested in early 1978 while one month pregnant. Phaok Khan believes that she was sent to S-21 or S-24, but was not able to find supporting documents.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 07 July 2009, Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 08 July 2009
Mr. Ly Hor

Ly Hor filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 and S-24.

Ly Hor joined the Khmer Rouge army as a combatant in August 1972. In 1975 he deserted Regiment 115 and joined the animal husbandry unit of his home village to work as an iron smelter and pottery maker. Ly Hor told the Trial Chamber of his arrest in early 1976 for attempting to steal food because he was hungry. He was first detained and tortured in Office 15 of Section 25. Toward the end of 1976, he was sent to the psychiatric hospital prison in Ta Khmau where he was interrogated and tortured for about one month. He was then sent to what he believes was S-21. He was detained there for more than a month before being transferred to S-24 and assigned to dig canals. Ly Hor recounted how he escaped at night from S-24, swam across the Prekhor River, and walked back to his home district Koh Thom where he remained until the fall of Democratic Kampuchea.

Ly Hor was asked by the Trial Chamber to testify extensively on the detention conditions he experienced and the facilities where he was detained.

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 06 July 2009
Mr. Bou Meng

Bou Meng filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 from mid 1977 to January 1979.

 Bou Meng joined the Khmer Rouge in 1970 following Norodom Sihanoukís call to join the resistance against the Lon Nol regime. After April 17 1975, he was assigned to the technical school of Russey Keo in Phnom Penh. A year later following the arrest of his superior, he was sent to a reeducation site in Kandal province. In mid-1977 he and his wife were called to "teach drawing at the Royal University of Fine Arts", but instead were arrested and transferred to S-21. He has never seen his wife since then.

As a Civil Party, Bou Meng testified on the detention conditions in the "common room" of Building C where he was detained before his interrogation started. He recounted how detainees were sprayed with a hose, naked, while being mocked by guards. Bou Meng also recalled the "several months or weeks" of interrogation he endured, which left him with emotional problems and physical scarring. He told the Trial Chamber that five interrogators took turns beating him with a whip until blood "flow[ed] from [his] back" and how on one occasion torturers inflicted electroshocks near his genitals until he lost consciousness. In late 1977 when painters were needed at S-21, he was transferred to Building E to work in the workshop and paint portraits.

 Bou Meng wanted to know from the Accused whether his wife was killed at S-21 or in Choeung Ek "so that [he] could collect the ashes or remains so that [he] can make her soul rest in peace".

Transcript of proceeding "DUCH" Trial - 01 July 2009
Mr. Chum Mey

Chum Mey filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 from October 1978 to January 1979.

Chum Mey was evacuated from Phnom Penh in 1975 along with his wife and four children. When he heard that "Angkar was looking for mechanics", he enlisted and was sent without his family to repair sewing machines in a Phnom Penh cooperative. On October 28 1978 he was called to repair vehicles, but instead was arrested and transferred to S-21, accused of being a member of the "CIA and KGB network". He explained that at S-21 he was detained in an individual cell and interrogated for twelve consecutive days and nights. Chum Mey recalled the constant insults and torture that he had to endure. Electroshocks were inflicted upon him twice until he lost consciousness, his toenails were removed, and he was severely beaten. During his testimony, he repeatedly stated that he felt that he was "treated more like an animal" than a human being. When the authorities discovered that he was a mechanic, he was transferred to a common detention room and was "no longer mistreated", but had to work "non-stop". Chum Mey testified on the consequences of the sufferings he endured at S-21: "I cry every night. Every time I hear people talk about [the] Khmer Rouge, it reminds me of my wife and kids. I am like a mentally ill person now."

Chum Mey put the following questions to the Accused: "Were all CIA agents smashed?" "Who decided to focus the interrogations on the CIA and the KGB?" "Why accuse someone of being an agent when all he had done was, for example, break a tool?" "What was 'Angkar'?"

Transcript of Proceedings - “DUCH” Trial (Trial Day 36)

Pagination