Case 002 Continues: Nuon Chea Places Conditions on Providing Testimony and Duch Begins Testifying

by Randle DeFalco, Legal Advisor, Documentation Center of Cambodia
— 19 Mar, 2012

On Monday, March 19, 2012, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) resumed trial proceedings in Case 002 against accused Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan. The day’s proceedings were dedicated to hearing additional testimony from accused Nuon Chea on the topics of the administrative and communication structures of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) government and the roles of the accused persons related to these two structures, as identified in relevant paragraphs of the Case 002 Closing Order.

Prior to the beginning of testimony, the Chamber announced that there would be a small change in the order of topics to be explored, stating that the administrative structures would be discussed first and thereafter the roles and responsibilities of all three accused would be discussed. The Chamber would then turn to the topic of communication structures.

While Nuon Chea was being escorted to the witness dock, his counsel Michiel Pestman made a request that Nuon Chea be allowed to make a short, prepared oral submission to the Court prior to answering questions posed by the prosecution. The Chamber judges deliberated briefly before granting the request…

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.