ABC Radio Australia
In Cambodia this week, the Khmer Rouge tribunal has been hearing an appeal by Duch, the head of a detention centre that oversaw the deaths of around 15,000 people in the late 1970s.
During his trial last year, Duch repeatedly apologised and asked for forgiveness for the deaths he oversaw… but then at the last minute, to the shock of many including his own international lawyer, he asked to be acquited of the charges. The 68-year-old , whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav was found guilty and sentenced to 35 years jail for crimes against humanity. Today, his legal team will wrap up their apeal.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Clair Duffy, Open Society Justice Initiative
Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)
COCHRANE: Now what was Duch’s legal teams main appeal argument?
DUFFY: Well, his main argument was really that he should never have been prosecuted by the Khmer Rouge court at all. The court’s equivalent of a Constitution gives the court power to try senior leaders from the Khmer Rouge era and those who are said to be most responsible. But Duch says he wasn’t a senior leader or somebody who was most responsible and so he should never have been tried in the first place. I suppose it’s what in legal terms we would call it jurisdictional argument.
COCHRANE: And is that consistent with the arguments that were made in the main body of the trial?
DUFFY: It’s not consistent with the arguments that were made during the trial. In fact this argument was really raised very late on in Duch’s trial, mostly during the closing arguments. Essentially Duch pleaded guilty, that’s at least what we would understand in places like Australia where we have a common law system, but there was no real provision for him to do that in the Khmer Rouge court. But as you just said, Liam, he did admit responsibility for the detention, torture and execution of thousands of people. He apologised on a number of occasions during his trial for what he had done, but then at the eleventh hour in his closing arguments, he said he should be set free.
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