Trial Chamber Calls Final Defense Witnesses to the Stand

Today in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch), the trial chamber received the testimony of two witnesses before recalling Duch to the stand to continue questioning him about his character. Christopher Lapel, the pastor who baptized Duch in 1996, testified about Duch’s conversion to Christianity. Later in the day, Stéphane Hessel, a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp and one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, testified about the possibility of reconciliation in post- conflict areas such as Cambodia.

Christopher Lapel met Duch in December 1995, when Duch was seeking conversion to Christianity, and baptized him on January 6, 1996. He described Duch as a kind and hospitable man with a “servant heart.” He was not aware of Duch’s past involvement with the Khmer Rouge. However, he perceived Duch as a man who lived in darkness – without joy, love, or purpose. Christopher Lapel first learned of Duch’s true identity in April 1999. This revelation surprised him but he described a feeling of joy stemming from his perception that God had transformed a killer into a believer.

The prosecution challenged the sincerity of Duch’s conversion, suggesting that it was nothing more than a pragmatic and opportunistic decision enabling Duch to benefit immediately and unconditionally from the forgiveness of the Christian God. Under the Buddhist religion Duch’s sinful acts would bring him bad karma and remain with him throughout his reincarnation. However, under the Christian religion, a person’s sins are immediately absolved during baptism, so long as the conversion is genuine…

Read more: ctm_blog_9-15-2009