“One Always Has Choices in Life”

Today, nearly thirty civil parties were in attendance to observe the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (Duch), about ten of whom sat in the courtroom while the others sat in the public gallery next to me. With the exception of the three civil parties who sit patiently behind the four groups of civil party lawyers every day, the rest of the civil parties apparently come to the trial periodically to meet with their attorneys and observe the trial, which may result in the award of collective and moral reparations if Duch is found guilty. On days like today when neatly-dressed Cambodians with informational pamphlets outnumber T-shirt-clad Western legal interns with notebooks, the trial feels more like a historically significant event to be experienced than a legal experiment to be analyzed. The civil parties put faces on decades-old atrocities involving millions that are often discussed in a matter of fact, history-book manner. In short, they bring the trial to life.

Before this interested audience, Khmer Rouge expert Craig Etcheson continued his testimony. Dr. Etcheson explained that while all security offices used beating, whipping, suffocation, and electrocution on prisoners, Tuol Sleng prison (S-21) employed a broader range of torture techniques including burning body parts, ripping off fingernails, pouring salty water on open wounds, tormenting prisoners with poisonous insects, dislocating shoulders, and various forms of water torture. Dr. Etcheson also described the “starvation rations” that were given to prisoners as a “low-impact method of execution.” Dr. Etcheson explained how torture techniques were generally passed down orally among party officials and described Duch as the principle trainer in torture techniques at S-21…

Read more: ctm_blog_5-28-2009