Phno
m Penh Post - Khmer Rouge Tribunal
prepares for next tasks after final ruling
Khmer Rouge Tribunal prepares for next tasks
after final ruling
Lay Samean | Publication date 21 September 2022 | 11:10 ICT
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Khieu Samphan during his appeal hearing in August, 2021. ECCC
On September 22, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) will
rule on the final appeal motion in Case 002/02 concerning former Khmer Rouge head of
state Khieu Samphan in connection with crimes against humanity, genocide and grave
breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention.
This final ruling by the ECCC’s Supreme Court Chamber on Samphan's appeal against
his life sentence would bring Case 002/02, along with the decade-long tribunal, to a
close as there are no further cases on the docket.
Prior to the pronouncement of the verdict, the ECCC held a press conference on
September 20 to reveal the procedural steps in the case and the background of the
proceedings from the court's first day up to its final hearing.
Neth Pheaktra, chief of the Public Affairs Office and spokesman for the ECCC,
confirmed that Samphan’s verdict would bring to a close its mission to seek truth and
justice for the Khmer Rouge victims through trials against former senior leaders of the
Democratic Kampuchea regime and those most responsible for the heinous crimes
committed from April 17, 1975 to January 6, 1979.
An estimated 1.7 million to 2.2 million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge's
reign of terror through a combination of mass starvation, brutal labour conditions and
executions of anyone deemed an enemy or not sufficiently devoted to the regime, which
carried out frequent internal purges.
Pheaktra emphasised that this landmark ruling would bring to a close the historic
achievements of the Cambodian court, which was jointly operated with the participation
of the UN and the international community on behalf of all Cambodian people and
especially the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime.
"September 22 … will be a historic day for the international justice system when the
ECCC issues its final ruling to bring to completion its many achievements.
"Of course, we do not yet know what the actual decision will be and this will depend on
the legal judgement rendered by the justices presiding over the Supreme Court
Chamber,” he said.
Samphan – now 91 and the only surviving former senior Khmer Rouge leader – has
been in custody since November 19, 2007, when he was first arrested and has remained
there through his August 7, 2014 conviction.
The crimes against humanity Samphan participated in included the executions of the
former regime's loyalists after the fall of Phnom Penh in April, 1975 and for the
subsequent forced evacuation of the civilian population of the capital, which led to the
deaths of tens of thousands of people.
Samphan was also found guilty of grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and
genocide against the Vietnamese.
He and his lawyer appealed the November 2018 verdict, pleading that the Supreme
Court Chamber reduces his life sentence to a limited prison term. The Supreme Court
Chamber held hearings on the appeal from August 16-19 last year, with both the
prosecution and Samphan's defence attorneys presenting arguments to the court.
Case 002/02 involving Samphan and the late Nuon Chea began in October, 2014.
During the trial in Case 002, the court heard from 185 witnesses in total, including 114
factual witnesses, 63 civil parties and eight public experts. More than 100,000 people
participated indirectly in the hearing by following the proceedings live as they
happened.
Pheaktra said that after the announcement of the verdict on Samphan's final appeal, the
ECCC would have another three years to carry out its two main remaining work-related
tasks.
The first tasks is instituting a system of management for the archives of the trial cases of
the ECCC, which needed to be kept in full in accordance with international standards
and to allow the public to see and study the records now and in the future.
The other task is to establish mechanisms for the education of the public through
dissemination of information on the important achievements of the ECCC, which will
also be of assistance to Cambodian and international researchers, as well as enhance the
ECCC's legacy in order to prevent the return of genocide and crimes against humanity
in Cambodia and elsewhere in the world.
Pheaktra recalled that the 16-year mission of the ECCC began in February, 2006 and
ran until August this year with a total cost of $337.7 million, of which Cambodia
provided $45.5 million in funding while international donors provided another $292.2
million.
Pheaktra continued that the ECCC donors were from 39 countries and included
government agencies, non-governmental organisations and the private sector. Japan was
the largest donor, providing $88.26 million and accounting for 31 per cent of the total
court and tribunal expenditures.
The second-largest donor was Cambodia itself, followed by Australia with $35 million;
the EU with $32 million; Germany with $14 million; Sweden with $14 million; UK
with $13 million and France with $10 million, as well as smaller amounts from other
countries.
Contact author: Lay Samean
