002/19-09-2007-ECCC-OCIJ ЮŲŠ / No: D427 instances.1947 Some prisoners also attempted to commit suicide because of these conditions.1948 Interrogations 448. Most S-21 prisoners were systematically interrogated.1949 These interrogations were carried out by S-21 personnel in their official capacity.1950 Once the prisoners had been allocated cells,1951 the interrogators would take them from their cells and escort them, blindfolded, to the interrogation rooms.1952 The prisoners were required to provide biographies to the interrogaters and respond to the accusations that had led to their arrest.1953 Not all interrogations were recorded in the form of written confessions,1954 and there was no general rule about the number of times a detainee could be interrogated, or on the duration of the interrogations.1955 Interrogation sessions did not end until the confessions made by the prisoner were considered to be “satisfactory”,1956 and prisoners could be interrogated repeatedly and ordered to rewrite their confessions several times.1957 449. In general, Duch or the S-21 personnel had the autonomy to decide whether to use violence and ill treatment,1958 except for important prisoners or those in whom the superiors had a special interest, in which case they would issue specific instructions.1959 450. Duch explains that he had introduced three interrogation methods to be used by the interrogation teams: the “cold” method, the “hot” method, and the “chewing” method.1960 The cold method consisted of interrogating a prisoner by use of propaganda, without using ill-treatment or insults. The hot method explicitly included “insults, beatings and other torture authorized by the regulations”.1961 The chewing method was an intermediate technique consisting of “gentle explanations in order to establish trust/confidence, followed by prayers to the interrogated person, continually inviting her or him to write”.1962 Ill treatment was also allowed.1963 451. The use of ill treatment during interrogations was frequent and has been acknowledged by Duch1964 and the interrogators;1965 it is also confirmed by many documentary records from S-21.1966 Two former S-21 prisoners, Chum Mey and Bou Meng, explain that they suffered serious ill-treatment during their interrogation, which they described both during the judicial investigation and in detail before the Trial Chamber.1967 It was shown that illtreatment increased when detainees did not provide confessions as anticipated. Additionally, any confession that was not sufficiently precise, or did not mention the name of another “traitor”, was considered unacceptable.1968 Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, National Road 4, Choam Chao, Dangkao Phnom Penh Mailing address: P.O. Box 71, Phnom Penh; Tel: +855(0)23 218914 Fax: +855(0) 23 218941. 116