By Kristy Tridhavee
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Nuon Chea made his first public appearance at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in a hearing regarding his bail. Nuon Chea’s attorneys requested the tribunal release him on bail pending trial because authorities interrogated him without his attorneys. During the bail hearing, victims from the Khmer Rouge regime also spoke.
A victim who survived the Khmer Rouge regime’s atrocities participated in the hearings to argue against releasing Nuon Chea on bail. Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American who is now a lawyer, told the tribunal of her experiences under the regime as a child. She said, “My brother, who was younger than me, and I were put in prison under Mr. Nuon Chea’s regime. We were not informed of our rights. There was no due process and we were arrested arbitrarily. They treated us inhumanely — for us, the graveyard was our playground. Here Mr. Nuon Chea is afforded all the protection of the best legal principles and ideals (in) both domestic and international law.”
Theary Seng’s testimony marks an important event in international law. Helen Jarvis, a tribunal spokeswoman, referred to the appearance of regime survivors “historic.” She continued, “To actually stand across the room from someone who a victim feels is responsible for their suffering is very important and at the leading edge of international justice.”
Victims have also submitted complaints regarding the regime’s crimes to the tribunal. Since October 2007, the tribunal has received about 500 complaints. Presently, the complaints are being scanned, processed, and analyzed. They also will be sent Co-Investigating Judges for use in their investigations. Co-Prosecutors will determine if the complaints will warrant new investigations. Robert Petit, one of the tribunal prosecutors, said, “Information received from victims is crucial to our success. The Court is lucky that so many people have come forward and submitted complaints, because it gives us a lot of information to work with.”
During the first public hearing Nuon Chea did not react to Theary Seng’s accounts and instead spoke about Cambodia’s present growth and presence in the world community. He said, “My fellow Cambodians, today Cambodia is enjoying peace, solidarity and national reconciliation and its development is improving gradually. But difficulties remain due to the influence of foreign countries that are hindering Cambodia’s growth.” Nuon Chea also praised PrimeMinster Hun Sea, an ex-Khmer Rouge fighter who defected to Vietnam in the late 1970’s. He later returned to Cambodia with the Vietnamese invasion in 1979.
The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is expected to rule on Nuon Chea’s bail request in the next few days. However, it is highly unlikely he will be released because of dangers to his life from surviving victims and the risk he may flee.
For more information, please see:
AFP – Khmer Rouge Victim Confronts Regime Leader in Court – 8 February 2008
Reuters – Pol Pot Number Two Blames Outsiders for Ills – 8 February 2008
UN News Centre – UN-backed Tribunal Processing over 500 Khmer Rouge Victims’ Complaints – 7 February 2008
