HAMILL Robert
Pseudonym: E2/87
Cases: Case 001
Category: Civil Party
Background and role
Robert Hamill testified as a Civil Party in Case 001. His brother, Kerry Hamill, was one of the foreigners killed in S-21 security centre.
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Robert Hamill testified on the devastating consequences of Kaing Guek Eav’s (Duch) crimes on his family.
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The Trial Chamber found that Robert Hamill had proved that his brother, Kerry Hamill, died at S-21, for which Duch was responsible.
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Kerry Hamill was passionate about sailing.
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After going to University, he went to Australia.
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In 1974, he moved to Darwin and bought a yacht named “Foxy Lady” with a friend, Stuart Glass.
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In Darwin, Kerry Hamill also met his girlfriend, Gail Colley.
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After repairing their boat, Kerry Hamill, Stuart Glass and Gail Colley started to sail through Southeast Asia.
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Kerry Hamill frequently sent letters to his family.
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They received a last letter from Singapore in July 1978.
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At this time, Gail Colley left “Foxy Lady” to visit her family.
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Robert Hamill assumed that his brother, Stuart Glass joined by John Dewhurst, wanted to sail to Bangkok.
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Still, because of the bad weather, the three men had to take shelter nearby Koh Tang Island.
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In their confessions, John Dewhurst described the circumstances of the attack on “Foxy Lady” by the Khmer Rouge.
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John Dewhurst stated that at night a gunboat came close and opened fire on the yacht.
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Kerry Hamill was then brought to S-21.
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At S-21, Kerry Hamill made several confessions.
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Robert Hamill believed these confessions to have been made under torture because some of the information in the statements was untrue,
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such as that he had trained by the CIA, and the family phone number was his CIA operative number.
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He also mentioned family members as supposed members of the CIA.
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Kerry Hamill firmed his last confession on the 13th of October 1978, two months after his capture. Robert Hamill speculated that his brother was executed shortly thereafter
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at the age of 27.
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Impact on the Hamill’s family
The family waited for sixteen months without any news from Kerry Hamill.
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They discovered in a local newspaper that Kerry Hamill had been captured, tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime.
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Kerry Hamill’s death destroyed the family.
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Robert Hamill believes that his brother, John Hamill, committed suicide as a consequence of Kerry Hamill’s death.
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Kerry Hamill’s death also impacted his parents, effectively paralysing them.
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His mother, Esther Hamill, did everything to hold her pain and became very sick.
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His father, Miles Hamill, lost the ability to work effectively and was forced to retire at a young age.
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Robert Hamill affirmed that what happened to his brother Kerry also had an impact on his consumption of alcohol and indirectly on his education.
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