Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 10/05/2002: Him Huy, former Khmer Rouge guard at Tuol Sleng prison during the shooting of documentary movie “S-21, the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine,” by Rithy Panh©John Vink/Magnum
Ka-set
http://cambodia.ka-set.info/
By Stéphanie Gée
17-07-2009
The Trial Chamber set speaking times allocated to each party for better efficiency, a principle that maybe, the judges should also apply to themselves. Thursday July 16th, president Nil Nonn used more than three quarters of the first day witness Him Huy’s hearing – thus leaving little time for his colleagues –, including with some questions which interest was not always clear. The witness, former S-21 staff member, did not play cat and mouse, like chief interrogator Mam Nay who preceded him at the stand. However, he did not say everything…
What is that document?
Him Huy, who wore a jacket and glasses on this day, started to testify, with his eyes lowered. After a few moments, Alain Werner, co-lawyer for civil party group 1, expressed concern with the president that the witness seemed to read a document and asked what it was. The witness claimed he had no document. To dispel any doubt, Nil Nonn sent a clerk to check the witness’ table, from which he took out a bundle of documents. Was Him Huy caught red-handed? No, after checking, it was a transcript of his interrogation by the co-Investigating Judges which he was given by the Chamber on the previous day.
Not insignificant functions
Khmer Rouge fighter, it was only late 1976 that Him Huy was sent to S-21. “I asked what I had done wrong to be sent there,” but a few days later, he was appointed to be guard. Later, he was assigned to the arrival of prisoners, which took place outside of the security centre, to arrests and the transport of detainees already interrogated to the execution site of Choeung Ek. Most of the arrests he carried out were done in Phnom Penh, but on occasions, his team travelled to the provinces to pick up people who had already been arrested. He received instructions from Duch and his deputy Hor for these operations. The modus operandi was the following: the people to be sent to S-21 were taken there under the pretext of transferring them to a new working place, in order not to stir panic in them, and it was only once they were at the prison that they were arrested; when they had already been arrested in their units, they were entrusted to Him Huy’s team in his Phnom Penh centre, located near the premises of the current Beehive radio station.
“At S-21, the boss was Duch”
Although Duch gave direct orders to Him Huy, he however never participated to the arrests in person. “He would have been too frail to do so,” the witness explained. Important people were sent to S-21, those of “lesser importance,” who had committed minor faults, ended up at the re-education centre of Prey Sar. The judge asked him if he saw at S-21 members of the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (UFLOR). “Yes, I saw foreigners, but I do not really know who they were: they were blond, tall and strong, and hairy too…” “But I am not talking to you about the Westerners, but about the UFLOR,” the president corrected him.
“Did you have to receive pregnant women you then had to send to S-21?” “I do not remember noticing if there were pregnant women. I did not pay a lot of attention to whether a woman I received was pregnant or not. I had to receive her and send her inside.”
The purges in the ranks of S-21 staff were important. “Who ordered you to arrest S-21 staff members?” “At S-21, the boss was Duch. Only him could give the order to arrest […] and produce such a decision. […] For any person implicated in a confession, well, his or her fate was decided by Duch.”
What Him Huy saw at S-21
“Were you aware of any release of prisoners?” “No, I never saw anyone be arrested, sent to S-21 and be released, because all those who were sent to S-21 ended up dying.” For his part, Him Huy made sure that the guards worked correctly. However, he could observe that “prisoners returning from interrogations bore traces on their back.” But he saw nothing of what happened in the interrogation rooms. What he also saw was that female detainees were locked in three collective cells, without handcuffs or shackles, “because we thought they were too weak to attack the guards.” Contrary to Mam Nay, he acknowledged that the prisoners “were all very thin.”
Judge Nil Nonn’s interrogation seemed to lack method. He gave too much importance to these details, asked umbrella questions, made non sequiturs, repeated the witness’ answers or went back and forth between different topics. He was difficult to follow.
Psychological support for the witness?
After the lunch break, the international co-Prosecutor suggested to the witness that he be assisted “to help him go through this difficult moment” because in the morning, “he appeared emotional.” A few sniffs, at the most… This consideration was not offered to other witnesses and civil parties, although they broke down at some points in their testimony. The president asked Him Huy if he needed psychological support, but the latter said he was ready to continue his testimony.
Approximate assessments
“Would you be able to give us an assessment of the number of children who may have been detained with their parents between 1975 and 1979?”, judge Nil Nonn asked the witness, who arrived late 1976 to S-21 and left during 1978… Still, Him Huy demonstrated his willingness to cooperate and suggested it was between “50 and 100,” children “aged from 1 to 8,” he specified.
Executions: what was the power of the generator?
The Choeung Ek site was selected in 1977 to execute S-21 prisoners there, at night. “Once the list of detainees to execute was made, we made the prisoners come out of their cells around 6.30pm and walk to the main entrance. There, a truck was waiting for them and they climbed up by using a chair as a footboard. […] The detainees were shackled and blindfolded. Hor would tell the guards to tell them they were being transferred to a new place of detention. They were not told they were going to be executed.” Each convoy could comprise of 60 prisoners, for a trip that lasted “maybe half an hour.” At the end of the journey, the unit on site started the generators and turned on the lights, the witness detailed. “We made the prisoners enter the house one by one and we turned on the lights near the pits to prepare the executions. My men kept an eye on the detainees and the executioners were posted near the pits. We escorted the prisoners to the pits to execute them. […] And we made sure their number was right, because otherwise, I would have had to account for it.” “What was the power of the generator?”, the judge inquired.
The lethal blow
The execution took hours. “To kill him, the executioner was instructed to have the prisoner kneel down by the edge of the pit. Then, he used an axle and hit him on the nape, before slitting his throat. Once the prisoner was dead, his handcuffs and clothes were taken away.” And the bodies were buried straight away.
Those executed at S-21
As far as he knew, Him Huy said, the Vietnamese prisoners were not sent to Choeung Ek, but executed in the S-21 compound. Similarly, the important cadres of the Communist Party of Kampuchea were executed near Tuol Sleng, but not at Choeung Ek, the witness specified. It was the same for the S-21 staff arrested.
Duch at Choeung Ek
“Did you ever see the accused at Choeung Ek?” “I saw him there twice [during 1977]. […] He stayed there until all the detainees were executed, then he left.” During the hearing on June 17th, Duch had claimed before the court he had been “only once” to Choeung Ek. And he had added: “I did not go close to the edge of the grave pits. My visit was very short.” The judge ordered a recess.
Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 16/07/2009: Him Huy during his testimony at Duch’s trial©Stéphanie Gée
“Did you notice the presence of the accused next to the place of execution?”, the president resumed, twenty minutes later. “There were many prisoners and it lasted from evening almost until dawn. I did not notice whether he was near the pit. Hor ordered me to work fast. We had to hurry. Dawn was about to break and we were at risk of being spotted,” Him Huy said.
Bag of questions
Without any transition: “When did you leave S-21?” “Late 1978.” Him Huy was then sent to the rice paddies, one kilometre away from Choeung Ek. “At the time, you never heard of courts, tribunals, judicial institutions, did you?” “No, that is correct.” “Until 1979, did you have the authorisation to go and visit your family, to return to your hometown, to take a leave from your work?” “No…” “How many vehicles were permanently used [at S-21] and what brand were they?” Regarding food rations, “did you observe the use of mugs, these big American cups? Some say they look like a horseshoe… Did you see any be used as containers for the gruel distributed to the prisoners?” The judge was inspired. However, he verified some disputable points in the testimonies of civil parties already heard. Thus, according to the witness, prisoners taken to Choeung Ek were dropped very close to the house, located some 50 meters from the pits, where they were cooped up; the detention centre was called S-21 only; the S-21 medical unit only comprised of men.
A burning smell
It was then the turn of judge Cartwright. She recalled Him Huy that the accused had already acknowledge in court that there were “345” Vietnamese detained at S-21. “Do you agree with this figure?” The witness said he had no objection because, he explained, he did not have “the capacity to know what their total number was,” even more so since he stayed only two years at S-21… In the middle of the questions, François Roux, Duch’s international co-lawyer, intervened. He warned that this had no link to the interrogation but “there [was] a burning smell on the side of the defence bench.” He was not the only one, the smell was also noted on the side of the civil parties. The security service checked and it was later found that trash was being burned outside.
A witness who says little about his responsibilities
“Were your responsibilities important at S-21?”, judge Lavergne then suggested. “After some time, I was made the unit chief,” the witness answered. “And in 1977, when cadres were arrested at the prison, I was promoted to be in charge of the transport and arrival of prisoners. Hor gave me that promotion.” A rapid ascent.
Him Huy described a Duch who was “very strict when it came to work.” “Did you fear him when you worked at S-21?” “Yes, I was very scared.” The judge then interrogated him on the functions the witness had after S-21, but the latter remained evasive and presented himself as a simple farm worker. Was the witness trying to minimise his past role?
Him Huy wriggles out
Judge Lavergne recalled that when he was heard by the tribunal investigators, Him Huy declared that “Duch went out to arrest people within Phnom Penh.” “Did you personally witness Duch making arrests?” “In those operations, he was not present. It was my team that proceeded to the operation. […] If people saw him, they would have understood they were going to be arrested.”
During the same hearing, Jean-Marc Lavergne continued, the witness reported that Duch and Hor, during a meeting, had “given instructions for not only hitting prisoners on the nape but also slitting their throat.” Him Huy remembers it. Would he confirm that the accused gave him instructions regarding the execution method? The judge asked the question twice, without getting any answer. “You can also tell me you don’t want to answer my question. Maybe that’s easier. But I’m going to repeat it one last time…” “Yes,” the witness answered. “Hor gave us the instruction on the method to use.” “Hor is not Duch. Did Duch give you instructions?” The witness wriggled out of it: “The instructions were given by Hor, but the decision to give these instructions came from Duch.”
The witness retracts
During the same hearing still, Him Huy declared: “Duch accompanied people [to Choeung Ek] and there was one left. He asked me: ‘are you determined or not?’ I answered: ‘I am determined.’ If I didn’t say so, I was scared he would accuse me to be opposed to him. He ordered me to kill the man.” The witness remembered saying those words. He recalled the incident: “There was a mass execution and Duch had come to watch. It was almost dawn, and near the pit, I saw very clearly that Duch, my boss, was there. […] He asked me if I had an absolute position and I said ‘yes’ because I was very scared…” The judge followed: “Did the accuse order you to execute someone on several occasions or did that happen only once?” Then, change of heart of the witness: “I am not very sure anymore… Was it Duch or Hor? Dawn was about to break and we had to work hurriedly to finish everything very quickly. I do remember receiving the instruction and executing the prisoner.” Then, Jean-Marc Lavergne requested the accused to stand up and asked the witness if he recognised him. “Yes, I recognise him. He is my superior.” “Was it him near the pit with you, in the early morning, who asked you to execute a prisoner?” “As I just said, we were really working in a great hurry […]. I am not sure anymore if it was him or Hor because both were there.”
To conclude, the judge asked him to return to his arrest in 1983. “I was arrested, accused of being the director of Tuol Sleng prison.” He was sent to work on the Vietnamese border, and after ten months, he was released.
The threat of judicial charges by the co-Prosecutors – highlighted by the defence on Monday July 13th at the start of the hearing of the first S-21 staff member – likely made Him Huy more careful in his statements, so he did not incriminate himself. However, the witness seemed more intimidated by Duch’s presence in the courtroom.
His testimony will continue on Monday July 20th.
(translated from French by Ji-Sook Lee)
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