A Time of Transparency, “Not Sealed Envelopes”

by Christine Evans, Clinical Fellow, Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law (JD and LLM)
— 27 Jun, 2011

A week of initial hearings in Trial 002 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) commenced today in what the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp has called “the most important trial in the world.”

The four accused in Trial 002 are the most senior surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime: Nuon Chea, who served as the deputy secretary of the party and known as “Brother Number 2”; Khieu Samphan, head of state of Democratic Kampuchea; Ieng Sary, deputy prime minister for foreign affairs; and Ieng Thirith, minister for social affairs. The accused face charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, as well as a number of domestic charges under the 1956 Cambodian Penal Code.

Many Cambodians and foreigners alike turned out to view the first day of hearings, which included spirited, and at times tense, debate on a number of preliminary issues, including a few items not included on the official court agenda. The public gallery in the courtroom, filled to capacity the entire day, included two full rows of Buddhist monks and nuns in the morning session, as well as a number of Cham Muslims, secondary school students, and foreign observers…

Read more: ctm_blog_06-27-2011

Cambodia Tribunal Monitor’s Trial Observer posts are written according to the personal observations and opinions of the writer and do not constitute a transcript of ECCC proceedings or the views of Cambodia Tribunal Monitor and/or its partners. Official court transcripts for the ECCC’s hearings may be accessed at the ECCC website.