Nuon Chea Defense to be Reported to National Bar Associations for Misconduct

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

Witness Khiev Neou began his second and final day of testimony Thursday, June 21, 2012 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Case 002 against accused Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Sary. It was the final day of open session before the Court adjourned for a three-week break; proceedings are scheduled to resume Monday, July 16, 2012.

The Court was not lacking visitors, however. Eighteen buses came through the parking lot over the course of the day, bringing almost a thousand visitors to view the proceedings. None of them witnessed a dull moment. Despite a few translation issues, Mr. Neou’s clear, articulate, and detail-rich answers held the visitors’ attention and helped members of the Chamber proceed through their examinations swiftly.

The hallmark of the day, however, did not occur until the final minutes of proceedings, when President Nonn gave international counsel for Nuon Chea notice that their misbehavior had resulted in letters for sanctions being sent to the relevant national bar associations from the members of the bench. Because President Nonn made the announcement at the close of proceedings, no member of Nuon Chea’s defense team was able to reply…

Read more: CTM_Blog_6-21-12

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.