Trial Monitoring

ECCC, Case 002/01, Issue 42

November 08, 2012
ECCC, Case 002/01, Issue 42
Publication Documents
Case or Series

Case 002/01

Case or Series

ECCC

Country

Cambodia

Language

English

Returning from a week-long break in honor of the King’s coronation day and the former King’s birthday, the Court heard testimony this week from one witness, one Civil Party, and the expert medical doctor appointed to assess Ieng Sary’s medical condition and fitness to stand trial. The Witness, Mr. Sum Chea, was a young Khmer Rouge soldier in the North Zone who assisted in the capture of Phnom Penh. The Civil Party, Ms. Mom Sam Oeurn, was a French professor who worked for the Ministry of Education in Phnom Penh before the city’s fall. Amongst the damage and sufferings she endured was the death of her husband and six of her eleven children during the Democratic Kampuchea regime.

The Court was not in session on Wednesday, as Parties prepared for Thursday’s hearing on Ieng Sary’s medical condition and fitness to stand trial. On Thursday, expert geriatrician Professor John Campbell took the stand to answer questions regarding his report on Ieng Sary’s current state of health. Professor Campbell found Ieng Sary mentally fit to stand trial, though physically much more frail than he was two months ago. The Trial Chamber issued an interim decision for Ieng Sary to return to the detention center and to observe the proceedings from his holding cell. However, he is exempt for the month of November, as he already explicitly waived his right to see the month’s remaining set of witnesses and Civil Parties.