PHNOM PENH, March 30, 2011 (AFP) - Survivors and relatives of some of the 15,000 people who died in a Khmer Rouge prison run by torture chief Duch made a final call for more reparations as his appeal case drew to a close Wednesday.
Cambodia's UN-backed court sentenced Duch, 68, in July to 30 years in jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity for overseeing mass murder at the notorious prison Tuol Sleng -- or S-21 -- in the late 1970s.
The only reparations the court awarded the victims, known as the civil parties, was to include their names in the judgment and agree to publish Duch's apologies.
Financial compensation for victims is not an option but their lawyers on Wednesday called for other forms of collective and moral redress, such as memorials or free psychological support.
Their appeal followed those of the defence and the prosecution earlier this week and marked “the last moment for civil parties to get justice”, Brice Poirier from Avocats Sans Frontieres, which represents some of the victims, told AFP.
Lawyers are also asking for more civil parties to be admitted after the lower court rejected 24 of the 90 applicants, saying they had failed to prove their harm was closely linked to Duch's actions.
This had caused “distress” to individuals already “traumatised once by the actions of the accused”, lawyer Karim Khan told the Supreme Court Chamber.
In their appeal on Monday, Duch's lawyers called for his acquittal and release, saying the court had no right to try him because he was “just a minor secretary” following orders.
The prosecution argued on Tuesday that Duch had failed to show “real, sincere remorse” and demanded life imprisonment, to be reduced to 45 years for time spent in unlawful detention before the tribunal was established.
A ruling on the appeals is expected in late June.
Anne Heindel, a legal advisor to the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which collects evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities, said the civil party appeal reminds the court that the proceedings are not just about legal arguments but about “the lives of flesh and blood victims”.
A bespectacled Duch could be seen scribbling notes throughout the hearing.
Duch was originally given a 35-year jail sentence but this was reduced for the period of illegal detention.
Given time already served, he could walk free in less than 19 years, to the dismay of many victims of the brutal 1975-1979 regime.
Led by “Brother Number One” Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out up to two million people through starvation, overwork and execution.
S-21, in Phnom Penh, was at the centre of the regime's security apparatus.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle. He was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.
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