The Court Concludes Testimony of Witness Sar Kim LaMouth And Begins Examination of Reserve Witness

by Kelley Dupre Andrews, JD/LLM (International Human Rights) candidate, Class of 2015, Northwestern University School of Law
— 5 Jun, 2012

Witness Sar Kim LaMouth completed his fourth and final day of testimony at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on June 5, 2012, in Case 002 against accused Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, and Khieu Samphan. With plenty of time to spare in the afternoon, the Court began hearing testimony of the reserve witness, identified as Sao So Run, the former secretary of the Pich Chenda district under Democratic Kampuchea (DK).

Over 300 villagers from the nearby Kandal Stung district in Kandal province were in attendance; today, however, they left the children at home. Unlike a group of French visitors who managed to sneak in a few minutes of napping throughout the day, the villagers remained absorbed with the scene before them.

Before the defense was given control of the floor, Duch Phary, a court officer of the Chamber, informed the Court that all parties to the proceedings were present except Ieng Sary, who would participate remotely from his holding cell, and the reserve witness TCW 604, who was expected to arrive at the Court around 10:00 a.m.

Trial Chamber President Nil Nonn, acknowledging Ieng Sary’s waiver of his right to be present in the Chamber, granted Ieng Sary’s request to participate remotely and then turned the floor over to defense counsel for Khieu Samphan to begin examining the witness…

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.