ECCC, Case 002/01, Issue 57

Case 002/01

ECCC

Cambodia

English

Following a weeklong adjournment for Khmer New Year celebrations, proceedings resumed to hear the testimony of three witnesses: Chhouk Rin, Chuon Thi, and Ros Suy. Proceedings were interrupted almost as soon as they began on Monday morning, when the first witness, Chhouk Rin, refused to provide testimony without first receiving medical care from the Trial Chamber. Because of this, the morning sessions were extremely challenging as the Court attempted to extract testimony. However, the Witness became much more cooperative after the lunch adjournment, and he remained cooperative through the conclusion of his testimony on Tuesday.

A number of familiar legal and procedural issues were raised again this week in Court, including the Prosecution’s use of questions outside the scope of Case 002/01, and the use of leading questions to examine an uncooperative witness. Witness Chhouk Rin’s reluctance to answer questions also raised the issue of the rights and duties of witnesses at the ECCC. Parties to the proceedings also disputed the correct procedure for the order of questioning, as the Trial Chamber heard the first witnesses proposed by the Defense Teams in Case 002 this week.