Torture descriptions stun observers

Editor's note: Greenwich orthodontist Albert Repicci and his daughter Kelly are attending the genocide trial of former Khmer Rouge official Kaing Guek Eav as observers.

Greenwich Time

By Albert J. Repicci and Kelly Repicci

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- On the second day of the trial of the former Khmer Rouge prison chief, the courtroom was mesmerized by the gripping description of his alleged crimes against humanity.

Canadian prosecutor Robert Petit elaborated on the extent of the horrors for which Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, is being held responsible, specifically the death by starvation, overwork, torture and execution of more than 16,000 men, women and children.

Petit showed film clips taken at the prison on the day of its liberation showing the bodies of inmates shackled in torture chambers. Several Cambodians witnessing these graphic scenes broke into tears, while others left the courtroom.

Petit regarded any claim that Duch, commander of the prison, was just following orders as implausible and unbelievable given the nature of the annotations Duch had inscribed on documents describing torture and execution techniques.

It was ironic to learn from Petit's description that the Khmer Rouge regime had become so paranoid that it eventually had 190 staff members in the prison executed and tortured as part of a cleansing of enemies of the regime.

The tribunal then called for a recess, at which time Duch, who sat alone in the dock with his back to the courtroom, turned and looked out at the assemblage of Cambodians holding him responsible for the atrocities that had just been described.

After recess, to the shock of all in attendance, Duch asked to take the stand and confess his guilt for the atrocities he was accused of and to offer his apologies to the people of Cambodia. He detailed his greater concern for his own life and that of his family over those of the many Cambodians whom he had sent to their deaths.

He said he had realized that he too was likely to become a victim of his superiors' paranoia and eventually suffer the same fate as his victims.

Petit put the confession in a different perspective. He pointed out that, although the prison had been overrun and evacuated in 1979, Duch remained a loyal member of Khmer Rouge for another 15 years.

Further, Petit said, Duch had ultimate power in the prison and the atrocities were shaped by his own design. Finally, Petit seized on one of the most unique aspects of the trial -- the opportunity for witnesses and victims to question the accused themselves before the court.

Unless that privilege was fulfilled, he said, there would be no closure and no reconciliation for the nation or for the families of those whom Duch had sent to their deaths.