Thursday, 5 February 2009

Duch's trial: Khmer Rouge Court received 94 civil party applications

By Ka-set
04-02-2009

The Khmer Rouge court Victims Unit has received 94 applications for the civil party status as part of Case File 1 concerning Duch, the former head of the S-21 detention centre, located in the capital of Cambodia.

The deadline to submit applications was February 2nd. Among these 94 requests, 28 have already been recognised during the investigative phase and were transferred to the Trial Chamber. Other applications came on top of those afterwards thanks to outreach information campaigns led throughout the country to explain to victims how they could possibly take part in the procedure, and are currently being processed.

In a press statement released on February 4th, the Victims Unit of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) reminded that “all complaints could be used as evidence during the trials and the complainants could be called as witnesses by the co-Prosecutors”.

As of February 2nd 2009, the Victims Unit received a total of 28 complaints in relation to Case 1. However, the Unit adds that there is no deadline for the submission of complaints and those who still wish to file a lawsuit in that case can still do so.

The initial hearing for Duch's trial will start at 9am on February 17th at the ECCC.

No comments: