Case 002 Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties

Tioulong Antonya was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the disappearance and execution of both her sister Tioulong Raingsy and her brother-in-law Kimari Lim.

She testified on behalf of her family. Her mother Measketh Samphotre, her sister Tioulong-Rohmer Neva, her niece Kimari Nevinka, and her nephew Kimari Visaka all participated in the trial as Civil Parties. They were exiled in France when they received Raingsy and Lim's last letter, dated 28 March 1975. Raingsy and Lim had planned to reunite with their family and children in France in the summer of 1975. But everything changed when the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh. Raingsy and her husband Lim were evacuated and in November 1975, both were arrested and detained at S-21. They were executed in April and May 1976, respectively. As a Civil Party, Tioulong Antonya told the Trial Chamber how it was only in 1979 that her family discovered the fate of her sister and brother-in-law, despite many efforts to locate them.

She described her family's suffering and rejected the apologies of the Accused, saying that her family would never forgive him.

Ouk Neary was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of her father Ouk Ket.

She is the daughter of Civil Party Martine Lefeuvre, who also testified in Case 001. In 1977, while serving as third secretary to the Cambodian Embassy in Senegal, Ouk Ket received a request to return to Phnom Penh from the Foreign Ministry of Cambodia. He decided to heed this request and arrived in Phnom Penh on 11 June 1977. On 15 June 1977, he was detained at S-21 until he was executed on 9 December 1977. Ouk Neary barely knew her father, as she was only two years old when he left for Cambodia. However, she told the Trial Chamber about the suffering she endured not only because of his absence, but also due to the fact that he had been tortured and executed under terrible circumstances at S-21.

She described her first visit to the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in 1991 when she was 16 years old as "the most tremendous shock of [her] life".

Robert Hamill was a civil party in Case 001 after suffering the loss of his brother Kerry Hamill, who had been detained and killed at S-21.

Kerry Hamill, 26, was on a sailing trip when her boat drifted in Cambodian waters. After being assaulted by bullets by a Cambodian boat, he is captured with a John Dewhurst and brought to S-21, where he is interrogated and then killed. As a civil party, Robert Hamill described to the Trial Chamber how his family had been destroyed by the uncertainty surrounding his brother's fate. His family had received one last letter from Kerry from Singapore in July 1978. After 16 months of no news from him, his family learned from a local newspaper that Kerry Hamill had been captured, tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime. During his testimony, Robert Hamill expressed the immense pain and suffering that he and each of his family members endured as a result of Kerry's death. He recounted how eight months after hearing of Kerry’s death, Robert, one of Kerry’s brothers and whom he was very close to, threw himself off a cliff.

Robert Hamill put six questions to the Accused concerning the date and details of the deaths of his brother and John Dewhurst. He also wanted to know if the Accused had any concrete ideas on how he could help the victims of S-21.

Martine Lefeuvre was a Civil Party in Case 001, having suffered from the loss of her husband Ouk Ket. In 1977 while serving as third secretary to the Cambodian Embassy in Senegal, Ouk Ket received a request to return to Phnom Penh by the Foreign Ministry of Cambodia.

He decided to follow this request and arrived in Phnom Penh on 11 June 1977. On 15 June 1977, he was detained at S-21 until he was executed on 9 December 1977. During her testimony, Martine Lefeuvre told the Trial Chamber about her search for her husband, which she started as early as September 1977. It was only in 1979, while visiting a refugee camp at the Thai-Cambodian border, that she learned that he had been killed at Tuol Sleng. In 1991, she returned to Cambodia with her two children in order to find his records in the Tuol Sleng archives.

Martine Lefeuvre described her suffering, as well as the that of her children, due to the absence of her husband, arguing that this suffering became more intense over time. Ouk Neary, Martine Lefeuvreís daughter, also participated as a Civil Party to the proceedings and testified on the same trial day.

Ms. Bou Thon was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-24.

She lived in Phnom Penh with her husband Phok Horn and their children when the Khmer Rouge seized control of the city. They were relocated to Phnom Penh Thmei. Her husband was "introduced to the revolution" by Kuy Thuon, Chief of the North Zone. Phok Horn was assigned to work at the Ministry of Energy as a driver for a fuel tanker, while Bou Thon worked as a cook. Three of her children were taken away to work in a mobile work unit and never returned. In 1977 her husband was arrested and disappeared. She later learned that he was transferred to S-21 and killed there. She was taken with her baby to Anlong Kong village, a component of S-24.

As a witness, Ms. Bou Thon described the detention conditions at S-24. She was not free to talk to other people and was too frightened to complain about issues such as the adequacy of food or health care. Although the prisoners harvested rice and vegetables in abundance, they were not permitted to eat the produce. She was obliged to work long hours and was shut in at night. She described her conditions as being "like a prison without walls". Bou Thon also testified as to the mistreatment she endured there. She was beaten, resulting in facial scarring, and felt "dehumanized because my life was in the hands of them and they could make any decision to kill me any time they wished to do so".

Ms. Bou Thon told the Trial Chamber that she came to testify as a witness in order to find justice for her husband and her children. She described how difficult it was for her to move on and forget.

Mr. Saom Met was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Saom Met joined the Khmer Rouge revolution in early 1973, first as a militia member and then as a soldier. After the Khmer Rouge victory, he was trained for eight months to become a messenger. He first worked as a guard in the general staff prison Dam Pheng before being sent to S-21 in 1977. There he was one of twenty guards in the special prison guard unit under the supervision of Him Huy, Sry, and Chamroeun. In late 1978 shortly after his brother had been arrested and sent to S-21, Saom Met was transferred to S-24 without knowing whether or not he was considered a detainee. There he built dykes and canals.

As a witness, Saom Met told the Trial Chamber that the special prison detained senior cadres, sector or zone cadres, and regiment or brigade commanders. The approximately 100 prisoners were shackled and detained in separated cells, each guarded individually. After 20 to 30 days of interrogation, they would be taken away and never returned. Saom Met witnessed the Accused repeatedly visiting the prison. He also told the Chamber that he once saw the Accused beating a prisoner on the back with a stick. He described the interrogation methods that he witnessed. Saom Met recounted that the guards were terrified when they witnessed such serious torture inflicted upon the detainees. The guards lived in constant fear of being detained and executed themselves and trusted no one.

Saom Met told the Trial Chamber that he was not happy with his work as an S-21 guard because people were arrested and killed. However, he could not display his emotions for fear of arrest.

Chhun Phal was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Chhun Phal joined the Khmer Rouge movement after 17 April 1975. He was sent to attend a military training in Ta Khmau before being assigned to S-24 at the age of 15 to work in the rice fields and dig canals. Early 1976 to the end of 1978, Chhun Phal was assigned as a guard of building number 2 at S-21. His orders were to guard the prisoners and prohibit them from escaping or committing suicides.

As a witness, Chhun Phal described the detention conditions at the S-21 building he guarded, as well as the working conditions as an S-21 guard. He recalled having seen Vietnamese prisoners of war, female prisoners, and foreign prisoners. He told the Trial Chamber that he did not know the Accused as the Chairman of S-21 and had never seen him there. He recounted being sent to do farming at Choeung Ek and once to dig pits and bury dead bodies.

A lawyer assisted Chhun Phal in case an issue of self-incrimination arose. 

David Chandler is an Emeritus Professor at Monash University, and holds degrees from Harvard, Yale and Michigan Universities.

He has authored a number of books relating to the Democratic Kampuchea period and S-21 and was called as an expert in Case 001. Unlike that case, where Professor Chandler testified at length regarding the day-to-day operations of S-21, his testimony in Case 002/01 was instead sought principally for an analysis of the policies that established S-21 and the broad purpose and function of security centres (and S-21 in particular) in Democratic Kampuchea.

Cheam Soeur was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Chiem Suor was forced to join the Khmer Rouge army in 1973 to work in a local militia at the age of 12. In 1975, he was sent to military training in Preaek Hour, Ta Khmau, before being assigned to work as an outside guard at S-21 under the supervision of Hong and later Peng. As a witness, Chiem Suor described the working conditions as a warder in S-21. He worked for 12 hours per night and had to attend self-criticism meetings every three or seven days. While on guard duty, Chiem Suor recalled hearing vehicles entering S-21 once every three or four days and also hearing the screams of detainees who were tortured. He recounted an incident when he saw a foreign prisoner being burnt alive with car tyres within the S-21 compound. Chiem Suor told the Trial Chamber that he was afraid during his time as a guard at S-21: "I was afraid because I did not know whether I was making mistakes. I was afraid of being arrested like the others". Chiem Suor had learnt that his supervisor Hong was arrested and jailed at S-21. He identified Duch as "the big boss, supervising or administering all the units at S-21", and saw him at S-21 while working as a guard there. 

A lawyer assisted Chiem Suor in case an issue of self-incrimination arose.  

Lach Mean was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Lach Mean was recruited as a Khmer Rouge militia member in 1974 before becoming a soldier. In 1975, he was sent for training at the military technical school at Ta Khmau. He was then assigned to work as a guard at Ta Khmau prison and later on at Dam Pheng prison in Phnom Penh. When this prison was relocated to S-21, he worked there as a guard and typist. In late 1978 he as transferred to the interrogation unit where he received training under the supervision of Kak.

As a witness, Lach Mean described the working conditions at S-21, reporting that S-21 staff disappeared on a regular basis. He described the detention conditions as well as the interrogation sessions, which aimed to extract information from the prisoners and identify their networks. His training to become an interrogator consisted of observing his supervisor interrogate detainees. He told the Trial Chamber that he was only assigned to interrogate ordinary detainees and was not permitted to inflict torture upon them. He acknowledged before the Chamber that he personally interrogated only three to four detainees. He testified on the torture methods used at S-21, such as beating prisoners with a guava tree stick and applying electroshocks to their ears. As an interrogator at S-21, he recalled meeting the Accused on a daily basis.

A lawyer assisted Lach Mean in case an issue of self-incrimination arose.

Sek Dan was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

At age 11, Sek Dan was conscripted by Khmer Rouge militia and sent to the technical school Prek Thnaot in Phnom Penh for three months of training. After having worked in a child unit assigned to build dykes near Phnom Penh, Sek Dan was sent to S-21 where he stayed until the Vietnamese seized Phnom Penh in January 1979. There he was assigned to work as a child medic with three others in Building 3 under the supervision of Pao and Yeun.

As a witness, Sek Dan described the medical situation of the detainees resulting from the interrogation sessions: they were wounded, their fingernails or toenails were missing, and they had lesions on the ears. The medicine distributed to the detainees mainly consisted of "rabbit pellets", which were produced only after 1975. He recalled hearing screams at night and witnessing the disappearance of prisoners. Some detainees died due to illnesses and he and the other medics were assigned to bury them near the S-21 compound. Sek Dan told the Trial Chamber that he was extremely worried at the time that he would be taken away himself to be killed. His supervisor Pao had been arrested on the allegation of killing a detainee. Following this, Sek Danís second supervisor Yeun hanged himself in fear of being arrested.

A lawyer assisted Sek Dan in case an issue of self-incrimination arose.

Mr. Suos Thy was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Mr. Suos Thy joined the Khmer Rouge army in late 1971 following the appeal of Prince Sihanouk. In late 1975, he was asked by Hor to join the staff of PJ prison and take care of the prisonersí records. When the prison was relocated to S-21, Suos Thy was assigned to the guards unit. He was in charge of the lists of detainees and worked at S-21 until the Vietnamese army arrived in Phnom Penh.

As a witness, Suos Thy described the structure of S-21. He told the Trial Chamber that there were three branches at S-21: S-21A or the "interrogation unit", S-21B or the "guards unit", and S-21D or S-24. He explained the processing of incoming and outgoing prisoners and the differing procedures for children, prisoners brought en masse, and former S-21 staff detained at S-21. Suos Thy was in charge of updating the lists and recording the deaths of prisoners due to illness or starvation as well as the lists of prisoners "to be smashed". He recalled seeing lists of prisoners requested by the medical unit to "have their blood drawn"; all of them died.

Suos Thy told the Trial Chamber that he clearly identified Duch as S-21 Director, however he was not in contact with him directly. Orders were relayed to him through Hor. He recounted hating his work at S-21, during which fear was "always with him". Nowadays, he said he felt remorse and pity toward the prisoners arrested and killed at S-21.

A lawyer assisted Suos Thy in case an issue of self-incrimination arose.

Mr. Prak Khan was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Mr. Prak Khan joined the Khmer Rouge in 1972. He worked in a farming unit before being transferred to Division 703. After participating in the capture of Phnom Penh, he was assigned to work in the S-24 rice fields. In late 1975 or early 1976, he was sent to S-21 to work as a guard outside the S-21 compound. In late 1976, Prak Khan was assigned to work as an interrogator in the so-called "chewing" group.

As a witness, Mr. Prak Khan testified on interrogations at S-21. He confirmed that there were three groups of interrogators: the "cold", the "hot", and the "chewing group". They were explicitly instructed by the Accused to torture the detainees without causing their death. Prak Khan also stated that torture could only be inflicted if Duch had ordered it. He described the training he received as an interrogator during the frequent study sessions in the "Duch political school". There the Accused would teach torture techniques and the political line of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. However, Mr. Prak Khan told the Trial Chamber that he "did not take part in torture". He also addressed the practice of drawing blood at S-21, which he claimed to have personally witnessed. He described the Accused as a "studious person, enthusiastic in his work" and always meticulous.

A lawyer assisted Mr. Prak Khan in case an issue of self-incrimination arose. The Judges highlighted several contradictions between previous statements and his testimony.

Mr. Kok Sros was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

Kok Sros joined the Khmer Rouge revolution as a combatant in late 1973. After 17 April 1975, he worked as a guard in Ta Khmau prison, also known as the psychiatric hospital. In late 1975, he was assigned to work at S-21, again as a guard. About a fortnight before the Vietnamese army arrived in Phnom Penh, Kok Sros was sent to work in rice fields south of S-24.

As a witness, Kok Sros identified Duch as the Chairman of S-21 and said that he was called "Ta Duch" or Grandfather Duch at that time.

He described the detention conditions at S-21, saying that no detainee was allowed to leave S-21 alive. He recalled the screams of prisoners during interrogations. He recounted how prisoners would ask him and other guards the reasons for their arrest and detention at S-21, stating, "I just told them I did not know anything. It was the Angkar who arrested them and sent them here and I was in charge of [Ö] patrolling the location". Kok Sros also described his work as a guard at S-21, recounting the arrests of two members of his group. He told the Trial Chamber that the suffering of S-21 staff was "tremendous": "Every one of us suffered and we had no choice, we could not escape, and we had to work. Only time would tell". In his unit, only two of the guards he knew survived.

A lawyer assisted Kok Sros in case an issue of self-incrimination arose.

Mr. Him Huy was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

A Khmer rouge soldier since 1972 or 1973, Him Huy started to work at S-21 as a guard in late 1976. There he became part of the special unit operating under the defence unit and was responsible for the arrest and transfer of detainees. With the intensification of internal purges at S-21, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of the special unit in charge of security matters at S-21 in 1977. He claims that he was transferred to build dykes in the rice fields at Prey Sar in 1978.

As a witness, Him Huy mainly testified on the arrests procedure at S-21, including the arrest of S-21 personnel, the detention conditions, and the executions of S-21 prisoners. He told the Trial Chamber that he was in charge of the transport of detainees to Choeung Ek where executions took place beginning in 1977, but that he had himself only executed one prisoner there.

Him Huy also addressed the role of the Accused at S-21. He stated that "Duch was the only one to give orders" at S-21, and that he was scared of him: "Frankly, when I see him, it reminds me of the moment I had worked with him. I did not dare to look at him [Ö] and even now, Iím fearful of him". He recounted how S-21 personnel were put "on high alert" once purges inside the prison had begun.

A lawyer assisted Him Huy in case an issue of self-incrimination arose. However, Him Huy did not invoke his right to remain silent.

Mr. Mam Nai was called as a witness to testify on M-13 and the functioning of S-21. He was the former head of the interrogation unit at S-21.

Mr. Mam Nai, a teacher and school director, was arrested by the Sihanouk government before 1970 for being associated with the Khmer Rouge. He was detained for two years in the same cell as the Accused. After his release, Mam Nai joined the Communist Party of Kampuchea in 1973. He arrived at M-13 two years after its establishment. He told the Trial Chamber that at M-13, he was assigned to plant potatoes and to interrogate "less important" detainees. He recalled being trained as an interrogator by observing the Accused conduct interrogations. At S-21, he described his role as being that of a "plain and simple interrogation cadre", entrusted with the primary task of interrogating "low ranking cadres". He maintained that he deliberately avoided resorting to torture during interrogations. He told the Trial Chamber that his survival was only due to the fact that he remained "blind and deaf" to everything except his work. When asked about the structure of S-21 or its compound, he invoked a failing memory and his allegedly unimportant role at S-21 to explain his lack of knowledge.

A lawyer assisted Mr. Mam Nai in case an issue of self-incrimination arose. Mam Nai himself repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination during the course of his testimony, notably when confronted with the discrepancy between his statements to the Co-Investigating Judges and his testimony before the Trial Chamber.

Nam Mon filed a Civil Party application on the basis of her detention at S-21 and S-24, as well as on behalf of her parents and her brothers who were detained and executed at S-21.

Nam Mon told the Trial Chamber that both of her parents joined the Khmer Rouge revolution early. She herself joined as a member of the S-21 medical staff at age 15 in mid-1975. After the arrest and execution of two of her uncles, her father, whom she described as Chief of Logistics in Phnom Penh, was arrested in 1977 and executed at S-21. One of her two elder brothers, who were S-21 guards, was ordered to execute him. Shortly after, her mother, her younger brother, and later her two elder brothers, who worked as S-21 guards, were arrested and executed. Nam Mon was herself arrested in early 1978. After three months she was transferred to S-24, where she was assigned to dig pits to bury dead children. She told the Chamber that from there she was sent to another detention facility. As she was taken to be killed, the Vietnamese troops arrived and she was able to escape and survive. Nam Mon was asked by the Trial Chamber to describe the detention facilities, the detention conditions both at S-21 and S-24, as well as to recount her work as a medic at S-21.

Her Civil Party lawyer had informed the Trial Chamber that her testimony represented the first time that she had revealed parts of her experience under the Khmer Rouge, even to her family.

Chin Met filed a Civil Party application on the basis of her internment at S-24 and on behalf of her colleagues of Division 450 who died under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Chin Met told the Trial Chamber how she was forcibly recruited by the Khmer Rouge army as a teenager. In 1976 she was assigned to rice farming before being transferred to a rubber factory in mid to late 1977. In her testimony, Chin Met recounted her arrest in November 1977 at the age of 19. She was transferred to a detention facility that she cannot identify, as she was blindfolded while being relocated. There she was interned for 15 days and was interrogated and tortured three times. She was then transferred to S-24 for re-education. She described the extremely hard conditions of forced labor, malnutrition, and the constant need to meet work targets.

She spoke of her despair, which led her to attempt to commit suicide. She recalled her constant fear and exhaustion, all of which have left her with emotional problems and physical scarring.

Phaok Khan filed a Civil Party application on the basis of the disappearance and deaths of his cousin and his wife, as well as on the basis of his own arrest and detention.

Phaok Khan told the Trial Chamber about his arrest in Tuol Kork in 1978. He had joined the Khmer Rouge in 1971 at age 15. He was transferred, blindfolded, to a detention center which he believes was S-21. There he was interrogated and tortured twice. After three to four months of detention, on 6 January 1979, he was taken away to a killing field. When taken near a pit to be killed, he avoided the blow aimed at his neck. He was hit in his ribs and fell unconscious into the pit. He was later able to leave the pit, reach the river, and let himself be carried upon a wooden plank  to the Chroy Changvar bridge where he was rescued.

 His cousin Chhoeung Phoam alias Tin Neth worked at Battalion 317, a disciplinary unit. He was arrested on 3 November 1977 and executed on 7 November 1977 at S-21. Phaok Khan was able to find documents on his cousin in the Tuol Sleng archives.

 Phaok Khan's wife Pin Lin alias Pin Leab worked in a sewing unit, Division 310. She was arrested in early 1978 while one month pregnant. Phaok Khan believes that she was sent to S-21 or S-24, but was not able to find supporting documents.

Lay Chan filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21.

Lay Chan joined the revolutionary forces before 1975. After being wounded in the battlefield, he was assigned to work as a messenger at the Kilometer 6 Port. In 1976 he was arrested and accused of participating in the theft of rice for the enemy. Lay Chan recounted how he overheard guards at the detention facility mentioning it as the "Tuol Sleng school". There he was interrogated and severely beaten twice to the point of losing consciousness. He told the Trial Chamber that he still suffers from the consequences of these interrogation sessions, notably an inability to hear with his left ear. After about three months of detention, Lay Chan was released and sent to a re-education section. After one year there, he was sent back to the Kilometer 6 Port and assigned to grow rice and vegetables.

 Lay Chan was asked by the Trial Chamber to testify on the detention conditions, the detention facilities, and the interrogation sessions.

 Lay Chan told the Trial Chamber that since his detention in 1976, he had never spoken about his experience and suffering.

Ly Hor filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 and S-24.

Ly Hor joined the Khmer Rouge army as a combatant in August 1972. In 1975 he deserted Regiment 115 and joined the animal husbandry unit of his home village to work as an iron smelter and pottery maker. Ly Hor told the Trial Chamber of his arrest in early 1976 for attempting to steal food because he was hungry. He was first detained and tortured in Office 15 of Section 25. Toward the end of 1976, he was sent to the psychiatric hospital prison in Ta Khmau where he was interrogated and tortured for about one month. He was then sent to what he believes was S-21. He was detained there for more than a month before being transferred to S-24 and assigned to dig canals. Ly Hor recounted how he escaped at night from S-24, swam across the Prekhor River, and walked back to his home district Koh Thom where he remained until the fall of Democratic Kampuchea.

Ly Hor was asked by the Trial Chamber to testify extensively on the detention conditions he experienced and the facilities where he was detained.

Mr. Norng Chanphal was called to testify as a witness on the functioning of S-21.

After the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, Norng Chanphal lived with his parents in a cooperative in Kampong Speu. His father, a Khmer Rouge cadre, worked as a railway worker while his mother was a farmer. His father left upon receiving a letter requesting him to work in Phnom Penh. His mother waited for him until a few months later she herself, along with Norng Chanphal, then 9 years old, and his little brother, were all taken to Phnom Penh. They were told that they would reunite with their father, but instead were sent to S-21.

Norng Chanphal was terrified when he saw his mother being mistreated upon their arrival at S-21. After one night in a detention cell on the second floor of a building, the children were transferred to the back of the building near the artists' workshop and placed under the care of an elder woman. There they heard screams regularly. Norng Chanphal informed the Trial Chamber that he saw his mother only one more time as she looked at him through the window bars of her detention cell. When the personnel of S-21 fled at the arrival of the Vietnamese army, Norng Chanphal and the four other children hid behind piles of clothes. He decided to stay at S-21 so that his mother could find him. One child died of starvation before the soldiers arrived.

Norng Chanphal later found his father's biography in the S-21 archives. He applied to become a civil party in order to find justice for his parents, but missed the deadline for civil party applications.

The Accused initially contested that the witness could not have been at S-21, as the policy was to kill all children who entered S-21. However, after S-21 records of the witness's mother were presented in court, the Accused acknowledged that the witness had been incarcerated at S-21.

Bou Meng filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 from mid 1977 to January 1979.

 Bou Meng joined the Khmer Rouge in 1970 following Norodom Sihanoukís call to join the resistance against the Lon Nol regime. After April 17 1975, he was assigned to the technical school of Russey Keo in Phnom Penh. A year later following the arrest of his superior, he was sent to a reeducation site in Kandal province. In mid-1977 he and his wife were called to "teach drawing at the Royal University of Fine Arts", but instead were arrested and transferred to S-21. He has never seen his wife since then.

As a Civil Party, Bou Meng testified on the detention conditions in the "common room" of Building C where he was detained before his interrogation started. He recounted how detainees were sprayed with a hose, naked, while being mocked by guards. Bou Meng also recalled the "several months or weeks" of interrogation he endured, which left him with emotional problems and physical scarring. He told the Trial Chamber that five interrogators took turns beating him with a whip until blood "flow[ed] from [his] back" and how on one occasion torturers inflicted electroshocks near his genitals until he lost consciousness. In late 1977 when painters were needed at S-21, he was transferred to Building E to work in the workshop and paint portraits.

 Bou Meng wanted to know from the Accused whether his wife was killed at S-21 or in Choeung Ek "so that [he] could collect the ashes or remains so that [he] can make her soul rest in peace".

Chum Mey filed a Civil Party application on the basis of his detention at S-21 from October 1978 to January 1979.

Chum Mey was evacuated from Phnom Penh in 1975 along with his wife and four children. When he heard that "Angkar was looking for mechanics", he enlisted and was sent without his family to repair sewing machines in a Phnom Penh cooperative. On October 28 1978 he was called to repair vehicles, but instead was arrested and transferred to S-21, accused of being a member of the "CIA and KGB network". He explained that at S-21 he was detained in an individual cell and interrogated for twelve consecutive days and nights. Chum Mey recalled the constant insults and torture that he had to endure. Electroshocks were inflicted upon him twice until he lost consciousness, his toenails were removed, and he was severely beaten. During his testimony, he repeatedly stated that he felt that he was "treated more like an animal" than a human being. When the authorities discovered that he was a mechanic, he was transferred to a common detention room and was "no longer mistreated", but had to work "non-stop". Chum Mey testified on the consequences of the sufferings he endured at S-21: "I cry every night. Every time I hear people talk about [the] Khmer Rouge, it reminds me of my wife and kids. I am like a mentally ill person now."

Chum Mey put the following questions to the Accused: "Were all CIA agents smashed?" "Who decided to focus the interrogations on the CIA and the KGB?" "Why accuse someone of being an agent when all he had done was, for example, break a tool?" "What was 'Angkar'?"

Vann Nath, 63, was called as a witness to testify on the functioning of S-21.

 Mr. Nath was arrested on 30 December 1977 while working in rice fields in Northwestern Cambodia. He was accused of being a "traitor" and was first detained at the prison located in Kandal Pagoda before being brought to S-21. After one month he was transferred to the artist's workshop to work as a painter, where Duch asked him to prepare a portrait of Pol Pot. He survived until the Vietnamese army seized Phnom Penh. As a witness, Vann Nath testified on the "inhumane" detention conditions at S-21, and recounted the impossibility for him to forget what he had endured at S-21. In the course of his testimony, some of his paintings depicting torture techniques at S-21 were shown.

Mr. Nath told the Trial Chamber that he wanted to testify as a witness in order to ensure that younger generations "would avoid repeating such a historical event," and he "wanted justice for those that had already died."