The Former Chief of Tuol Sleng Prison Against the Temporary Detention Warrant
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 - Editor:
Kaing Guek Eave, alias Duch, was the chief of Tuol Sleng Prison during Pol Pot Regime from 1975 to 1979. He was arrested by military court on 10 May 1999 and on 30 July 2007 he was sent to continually detain at the Extraordinary Camber in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC); therefore, the suspect, Duch, was held from 10 May 1999 to 30 July 2007 without any hearing- equals eight years six months and 10 days. Because of the long-illegal detention, detainee Duch was against the provisional detention order, so on 20 November 2007 the ECCC decided to have the hearing.
Mr. Francois Roux (French) and Mr. Savuth Kar (Cambodian) are Duch’s defense counsel. Hundreds of people participated in the first hearing such as Mr. Sambat Reach (ECCC spokesman), reporters, diplomats, investigators, prosecutors, presiding judges, observers, monks, lawyers, securities, victims, photographers, etc. 10 publics and two journalist representatives were allowed to have access to the pre-trial chamber. The long-waited hearing started at 10:45am. Wearing a white T-shirt; Duch looked nervous, sad and pitiful and he said that he was against the provisional detention order because he has been detained more than eight years without any hearing. He “needed freedom”. His Cambodian lawyer Savuth Kar was very clever and active. He said that he was strongly against the provisional detention of his client. Such a detention was absolutely illegal because it did not follow the Cambodian law and human right. According to the Kingdom of Cambodian law, the detention of a suspect is only three years. If the courts want to delay, they have to find the other case to put pressure on the suspect; the delay is only one year the longest and it can be happened two times.
The defense counsel Savuth Kar also asked the ECCC for three conditions. First, he suggested that the ECCC release his client without any condition. Second, if the first one was not agreed, please consider the second one that is set Duch free, out of detention. Give him a specific place to live by promise that every week his client has to sign to ensure that he doesn’t escape. For the signing place, it has to be the nearest Duch’s resident. Third, if the first one and the second one are not accepted, once again please consider the last condition: Kaing Guek Eave, Duch, has to live without detention; nonetheless, he is under the watch of the ECCC.
After the two days of the hearing, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has not decided whether to detain the suspect or not.
