Civil Parties Boycott Start of Character Witness Testimony While Experts Offer Psychological Assessment of Duch

The civil parties that have consistently attended the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) were conspicuously absent from the courtroom this morning. In an impromptu press conference held at the entrance of the court just minutes earlier, Chum Mey, a civil party and survivor of Tuol Sleng prison (S-21), explained that 28 civil parties were boycotting the proceedings this week to contest the trial chamber’s ruling that barred their lawyers from questioning character witnesses. The civil parties expressed their dismay at what they perceived as a restriction of their legal rights and a silencing of their lawyers. They argued that truth and justice could not be achieved if they were not given the opportunity to question character witnesses to help them understand the motivations and intentions of the accused.

The civil parties planned to release an open letter to the trial chamber to request a reversal of its decision. It is unclear whether the civil party attorneys will formally appeal the trial chamber’s decision. (While certain types of decisions considered to be particularly prejudicial to one of the parties are subject to an immediate interlocutory appeal, an appeal against this particular decision would have to be made at the same time as an appeal against the judgment on the merits.)…

Read more: ctm_blog_8-31-2009