ECCC, Case 002/02, Issue 25

Case 002/02

ECCC

Cambodia

English

Returning from a mid-year judicial recess this week, the Trial Chamber commenced the next segment of the proceedings in Case 002/02 with testimony from a Civil Party and a witness on the Trapeang Thma Dam worksite (TTD). This segment covers the last of three worksites to be discussed in the trial, and it relates to charges of crimes against humanity of enslavement, extermination, murder, and persecution on political grounds, as well as other inhumane acts, through enforced disappearances and forced marriage. TTD was located in Sector 5 of DK’s Northwest Zone and, according to paragraph 324 of the Case 002 Closing Order, “It was officially described by the CPK in October 1977 as the result of a nation-wide labour offensive to fulfill the CPK’s 1977 economic plan.” Civil Party Sen Sophon and Witness Mam Soeum testified on their experiences working at TTD. Two subsequent witnesses, Kheun Vat and Oum Chy, provided the final testimonies related to the Kampong Chhnang Airport construction site and the First January Dam worksite, respectively. This week, the Defense Teams also raised a variety of legal and procedural issues: the OCP’s late disclosure of new evidence from the Case 004 investigation related to TTD; problems with the inclusion and translation of 66 statements from the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam); improper questioning practices when citing written records of interviews; and, objections related to the trial’s scope of the trial. The Trial Chamber concluded the testimony of four people this week, but it decided to cancel next week’s proceedings to prov