CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE?

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE?
June 8, 2009

By Charles Jackson, Legal Intern, Documentation Center of Cambodia, and
Candidate for J.D. 2011, Northwestern University School of Law

Co-Prosecutors used the day to ask Kaing Gued Eav (Duch) specific questions
focused on the implementation of CPK Party policies at S21 and M13. While
the Co-Prosecutors tried to establish that Duch not only implemented, but
actually created some of the policies, Duch insisted on his role as a
middle-man who merely received orders and relayed them to his subordinates.

“All Enemies Had to Be Smashed”

Deputy Co-Prosecutor Tan Senarong began the day with an attempt to establish
different time periods in which to discuss the evolution of CPK policies and
the people selected as prisoners. Senarong proposed a framework that
temporally divided the CPK into four time periods: pre-1968, 1968-1970,
1970-1975, and 1975-1979. However, Duch countered back that there was no
difference in the time period for him. Duch explained his position at M13
and S21 as administrative and involving very little discretionary power.
Indeed, in his words, there was one core policy that animated his actions:
“People sent to S21 were already regarded as enemies, and all enemies had to
be smashed.” When the Co-Prosecutor next tried separating prisoner groups by
reason for their arrest, Duch again maintained that such a division only
pertained to arresting authorities. Once a prisoner was at S21, his only
option was to regard that individual as an enemy.

Despite Duch’s clear position, the Deputy Co-Prosecutor began a series of
questions seeking to understand the extent to which Duch may have classified
different prisoners and how they may have been treated differently. Senarong
asked Duch about arrested Khmer Rouge Cadre, intellectuals, civilian
‘enemies’, women, and children. But Duch did not waiver from his position
that he did not consider any classifications and tried to separate himself
from policy decisions concerning whom to arrest and interrogate.

It was only when asked about killing children that Duch said he questioned
the arrest of a specific group. Showing dubious sincerity, Duch said he
raised concern about the detention and killing of young people to his
superior, Son Sen, but was told they may take revenge, so they too had to be
“smashed.” After placing the decision-making blame on his superior, Duch
also separated himself from S21 guards performing interrogations and
executions. When asked if he knew about children executed by being beaten
against a tree, he denied having any knowledge or direct control over how
the soldiers executed “enemies.”

“The More You Use a Sword, the Sharper it Gets”

After a short recess, the International Co-Prosecutor proceeded with a line
of questioning focused on education programs that taught CPK Policies to the
staff at S21. The Co-Prosecutor tried to elicit a description of how the S21
staff was encouraged to carry out the CPK killing policy. Duch explained how
he had a special school built near his home at S21, where he could hold
large groups for training sessions, and that he alone gave instruction
there. The meetings, according to Duch, were held only once a year for the
entire S21 staff, but the interrogation staff had small-group training as
often as once per week during the “busy times”. When asked how he taught his
guards and soldiers to torture prisoners, Duch eloquently summed up his
method by saying, “The more you use a sword, the sharper it gets.” To him,
this meant that interrogators were most effective when they were given
frequent instruction of the CPK killing policy and methods of interrogation,
followed up with even more frequent opportunities to practice those methods.
However, Duch quickly reminded the court that his training was nothing more
than his best attempt at relating the message of his superiors to his
subordinate officers. After a short lunch break, the Co-Prosecutor finished
his questioning while a picture of Duch smiling in front of a microphone
during one of his training sessions was displayed to the court. Although
Duch continued to play down his decision-making power, the picture
constantly reminded the court of a different Duch.

The second half of the day’s proceedings were led by two of the Civil Party
Co-lawyers: Alain Werner of Group 1 and Silke Studzinsky of Group 2.

Many of Werner’s questions were based on Dr. Etcheson’s recent testimony and
Duch took advantage of the opportunity to try to undermine the witness. Duch
disagreed with Dr. Etchenson’s accusation that he had made the decision to
collect lists of people implicated as enemies through interrogation
practices and the accusation that he intended such lists to be disseminated
to other security offices. Instead, Duch continued to portray himself as a
middle-man, following orders to collect information from his interrogators
and reporting back to Son Sen.

Duch also sought to undermine Dr. Etcheson’s testimony that the methods of
torture at S21 were unique by calling into question the basis of Dr.
Etcheson’s knowledge. Duch admitted that he taught some methods of torture,
including the use of electrical shocks and suffocation with a plastic bag,
but he added that he didn’t know if his methods of interrogation in fact
were unique. Duch also insisted that he did not believe his interrogators
used poisonous insects or the pulling of fingernails as methods of torture
and questioned Dr. Etcheson’s sources.

The day finished with Ms. Studzinsky, Civil Party Co-Lawyer of Group 2, who
questioned Duch about alleged policies to treat S21 prisoners like animals.
Although Duch made some compelling confessions on this point, he seemed to
qualify each one with a mitigating factor for the court to consider. He
admitted to instructing soldiers to make prisoners worship images of dogs,
but said he implemented that method of treatment because he thought it would
help avoid the use of beating. Duch admitted that guards called prisoners
derogatory animal names, but said he did not instruct such behavior and it
was “unavoidable, as the guards just followed each other.”

Duch used the last questions of the day – concerning the practice of
stripping prisoners upon arrival at S21 – to reassert the position that he
did his best to manage the prison, but many of the day-to-day procedures
were out of his hands. While he consistently offered to take the blame for
the crimes at S21, admitting it was under his supervision, he qualified that
willingness by claiming that the crimes he committed were a result of
following orders, and many of the crimes at S21 were committed by
subordinates whom he did not directly manage.

Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE

Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
P.O. Box 1110
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
t: +855 23 211 875
f: +855 23 210 358
h: +855 12 905 595
e: dccam@online.com.kh
www.dccam.org

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