ECCC, Case 001, Issue 9

This week, the Chamber questioned Duch on the “Functioning of S-21” and “Killings at S-21, the surrounding areas, and Choeung Ek”. The Chamber completed its examination on these topics over a three-day period, and the Prosecution will begin questioning the Accused Person on Monday, 22 June 2009. There were no proceedings held on Thursday, as it was a Cambodian public holiday.

Although Duch continued to show remorse and admit that atrocities occurred at S-21 this week, he also consistently denied much of his personal involvement in both the decision- making process and the daily operation of the security center. The Accused did acknowledge, however, his personal role in annotating confessions and reporting to the upper echelon, which he admitted led to the latter’s decision on further arrests. He appeared to become very emotional at several points during this week’s proceedings, particularly when asked to describe acts committed against people he knew personally.