In a verdict that shocked both Chhouk Rin supporters and opponents, Municipal Court Judge Thong Ol ruled Tuesday that the former Khmer Rouge commander could not be held responsible for his alleged involvement in a train raid that led to the deaths of three Western backpackers in 1994.
Thong Ol cited a law, which was passed by parliament just weeks before the train attack occurred, that grants immunity to Khmer Rouge soldiers who defect to the government. The law said defectors would be forgiven for crimes committed during their years with the Khmer Rouge.
So in the end, it didn’t matter what evidence the prosecution had against Chhouk Rin because he couldn’t be held responsible for what he did during his years as a guerrilla commander.
“I do not convict Chhouk Rin,” Thong Ol said. “I am ordering to have Chhouk Rin released immediately.”
The immunity law defense was also used by Chhouk Rin’s lawyers. “Even if my client did do this, the decision made by parliament protects him,” Chhiev Sang said. “The law forgives him under the amnesty provision.”
Chhouk Rin, who defected to the government just 10 weeks after the train attack and became a colonel in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, is one of three suspects who have been linked to the train raid in Kampot province.
Nuon Paet, a former guerrilla commander who did not defect, was sentenced to life in prison one year ago for ordering the train ambush in which at least 13 Cambodians were killed.
Sam Bith, the third former Khmer Rouge commander who has been accused of having responsibility in the train raid, remains free. In January he was summoned to the court for questioning, but never showed up. Both Chhouk Rin and Sam Bith testified against Nuon Paet during his trial.
The backpackers—Australian David Wilson, 29, Briton Mark Slater, 28, and Jean-Michel Braquet, 27, of France—were killed at Phnom Voar after being held hostage for more than two months.
Security was beefed up for the Chhouk Rin trial, with dozens of military police officers standing inside and outside the courtroom armed with AK-47s. Family members of the victims arrived at the court with their embassy officials.
But journalists, including ones who came from foreign countries to cover the trial, and curious bystanders outnumbered the security officials. Several foreign journalists and most of the Cambodian reporters were shut out from the courtroom and were forced to stand outside the window to listen to the trial.
Chhouk Rin, who has been detained in prison since his arrest in January, smiled when he walked into the courtroom, accompanied by six police officers. But his face soon grew somber as he was questioned by prosecutor Yet Chatkriya and two lawyers for the family.
Dozens of witnesses testified, including several of Chhouk Rin’s former colleagues from Phnom Voar, railway workers and parents of the three Western victims.
In the beginning of the trial, Thong Ol read the list of charges against Chhouk Rin, which were robbery, premeditated murder, terrorism, illegal detainment and destruction of property.
When Yet Chatkriya asked Chhouk Rin about the train attack, the former Khmer Rouge commander tried to avoid the question by talking about the Lon Nol coup d’etat in 1970 that overthrew then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
When Chhouk Rin was pressed to answer the question, he repeatedly said he was not aware of plans to attack the train or kill any foreigners as he was in the hospital because of his leg, which was injured during a mine explosion in 1984. Dozens of Chhouk Rin’s friends from his stronghold of Phnom Voar said Chhouk Rin was in the hospital during the attack.
“I didn’t commit a crime,” Chhouk Rin said. “I didn’t join the attack.”
Chhouk Rin’s comments Tuesday in court contrast with an interview he gave The Cambodia Daily in May 1999, when he spoke of the raid.
Yet Chatkriya repeatedly asked the friends of Chhouk Rin why they came to court when most of them were not present during the attack, but many of them said they were in the hospital with Chhouk Rin during the raid or they just knew.
As Chhouk Rin smiled and faced the courtroom to show off his injury, Jean Claude Braquet, the father of the French victim, walked over to Chhouk Rin and yelled, “I don’t care about your wound! You were proud of that wound in 1994 because you fulfilled your mission.”
Kek Galabru, president of the local human rights group Licadho, put her arms around Braquet and Phi Thach, director of the cabinet for the Sam Rainsy Party, put a hand on Braquet’s shoulder to help calm him down.
Braquet repeatedly approached his lawyer, Yim Sary, a lawyer at the Cambodian Bar Association, to point out certain evidence. When the parents of the victims wanted to speak, they raised their hand until the judge addressed them.
“We all know very well that Chhouk Rin is the one who gave the order to attack the train,” Braquet told the court.
Chhouk Rin said Nuon Paet is the one who led the attack and that he had many quarrels with his former colleague before Chhouk Rin defected to the government in October, just 10 weeks after the train ambush.
Chhouk Rin and his other lawyer, Put Theavy, repeated several times the fact that Chhouk Rin joined the government and helped its forces attack Phnom Voar to secure the release of the three Westerners.
Mark Slater’s mother and David Wilson’s father each asked Chhouk Rin to pay $50,000 to them in compensation, since that is how much the government was going to pay in ransom for each of the hostages.
“The life of a person is most important in eyes of God and the eyes of this court,” Peter Wilson told the court. “I won’t ask for anything less than $50,000.”
Dorothy Slater, the mother of Mark Slater, wiped away tears as two of Chhouk Rin’s friends, including Chum Oun who helped bury her son and the two other foreigners, recalled on the stand how the backpackers were killed and their bodies dumped in shallow graves.
In their closing statements, prosecutors and lawyers for the victim’s families said Chhouk Rin implemented the orders to attack the train and therefore, should be held responsible for the destruction of property and the loss of lives.
“Based on what we have done so far…we conclude that Chhouk Rin truly led the train attack,” Yet Chatkriya said in his closing statement.
The defense said Chhouk Rin was not present during the attack and that whatever happened during that period in 1994, it was a time of war and the loss of lives was a natural consequence of that.
But above all, the defense said Chhouk Rin should not be held responsible because of the law granting Khmer Rouge defectors immunity.
“Don’t try to accuse my client because everything must be done based on the law,” Put Theavy said as droplets of sweat dripped from his chin.
When Put Theavy mentioned the immunity law during his closing statement, Jean-Claude Braquet, the father of the French victim, swore at the lawyer and called him a liar.
As soon as Thong Ol announced his decision, Braquet shouted, “It’s a scandal,” before he stormed out of the courtroom.
After Thong Ol announced the verdict, he said the plaintiffs have a right to file complaints in civil court to seek compensation.
