THE RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION: A CONFUSING PROTECTION

August 3, 2009

By Toni Holness, Legal Associate with the Documentation Center of Cambodia and
Candidate for J.D./M.A.-Economics 2011, Temple University.

Sek Dan, former child medic at S-21, and Lach Mean, former prison guard and
interrogator at S-21, appeared as witnesses before the tribunal today in the
trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch) .

Sek Dan: The Figures Speak for Themselves
Sek Dan, a 48-year-old peasant farmer, had a rocky start this morning when
he struggled to comprehend his right against self-incrimination and his
obligation to speak truthfully to the tribunal. After a second reading of
the rights and obligations, Mr. Sek remained visibly confused but the
tribunal pushed forward with his testimony. This crucial misunderstanding
resurfaced later in the testimony.

Sek testified that in 1978 he was taken to S-21 when he was 11 years old to
work as a child medic, delivering medical supplies to prisoners and staff.
When the Vietnamese arrived Sek managed to escape with other child medics.
Although he did not know Duch well, Sek had seen the accused occasionally
from afar. When asked about other supervisors of S-21, Sek testified that he
knew of no others.

Given Sek’s experience as a medic at S-21, the judges seized the opportunity
to investigate the health conditions of the S-21 prisoners. Sek described
missing fingernails, torn ears, legions and sores on the backs, legs and
arms of prisoners. Although multiple medications were administered, Rabbit
Pellet medicine was most widely used. The content of the Rabbit Pellet
medicine remains unclear. Sek testified that prisoners were medicated merely
to sustain them for further interrogation.

Sek did not witness torture himself but deduced that the prisoners’
interrogation wounds were likely linked to the screaming he heard at the
prison. Although he did not witness any medical experiments, Sek conceded
that he was very young at the time and may have been unaware of such
practices if they occurred.

According to Sek, the medics were not immune to the fear that permeated
S-21. Medics who made errors were accused of being enemies and arrested. Sek
said that Duch ordered these arrests. At least one medic hanged himself at
S-21.

In response to Sek’s testimony, Duch reminded the court of his math
expertise and astutely highlighted the discrepancy in Sek’s testimony: if
Sek is now 48 years old, he must have been born in 1961 and therefore he
must have been 17 years old when he arrived at S-21 in 1978, not 11 years
old as he claimed. Duch highlighted other, less prominent, sources of doubt
in Sek’s testimony.

In response to the age discrepancy, defense attorney Roux noted, “the
figures speak for themselves.” However, neither the court nor attorneys for
the parties asked if Sek was innumerate during his time at S-21. This would
have been an important clarification in light of Sek’s admitted illiteracy
during his time at S-21 and his conceded current trouble with calculating
numbers.

Sek Dan’s Right against Self-Incrimination
Defense attorney Roux hit a stumbling block when Sek refused to answer some
of his questions. Roux insisted that although Sek may refuse to answer
self-incriminating questions, he should not refuse to answer innocuous
questions.

The President supported Roux on this matter and reminded Sek that although
he can “decline to answer any questions that [he] believe[s] would
incriminate [him]” he is obligated to tell the truth. However, it became
unclear, as the President and Roux urged Sek to answer questions, whether
Sek’s right against self-incrimination applied to questions the court finds
self-incriminating, or to questions that Sek himself deems
self-incriminating. In any case, the witness’ counsel explained that Sek has
very poor memory and was merely refusing to answer questions that appeared
too complicated.

Lach Mean: Interrogator, not Torturer
After lunch, the tribunal resumed proceedings with the testimony of Lach
Mean. Mr. Lach is a 52-year-old farmer. Lach spent time working at the PJ
prison and subsequently worked as an internal guard and interrogator at
S-21. Mr. Lach described truckloads of Vietnamese prisoners he saw brought
to S-21 and blankets that were used to cover arrested S-21
staff-turned-prisoners.

Toward the end of his time at S-21, Lach was taught interrogation
techniques. He learned by watching other interrogators and denied that
written materials were used to guide interrogators. Interrogators were
grouped into categories based on prisoner status: important prisoners,
foreigners, female cadres and Westerners. Lach testified that ordinary
interrogators were not permitted to use torture and physical violence
against prisoners and he never witnessed torture being inflicted at S-21.

Lach also claimed that Duch never ordered him to torture, but Duch did
contact him directly by telephone in response to an “incomplete”
interrogation. Lach later testified that electricity was used to shock
prisoners.

Among other issues, Duch expressed suspicion about Lach’s work as an S-21
interrogator because Duch claims that he would not have hired interrogators
who were not under his direct supervision.

Lach’s testimony continues on Tuesday, August 4.