002/19-09-2007-ECCC-OCIJ ЮŲŠ / No: D427
arrested were mentioned by Koy Thuon in his confession in which he listed his “traitorous
network”.1861 Finally, for the East Zone, the number rose to 1,165 arrests with close to 500
arrests in the month of June 1978,1862 which corresponds to the suicide of Sao Phim.
432.
In addition to the former members of the RAK and the former CPK cadres, other Cambodians
appeared in the lists, in particular, former soldiers and cadres of the Khmer Republic or of
FUNK (National United Front of Cambodia) 328 entries in the revised list,1863 teachers,
professors, students, doctors, lawyers or engineers (279 entries),1864 people detained because
of family ties (876 entries),1865 and a certain number of people whose origin could not be
established.1866
433.
A certain number of foreign nationals1867 were also detained at S-21, such as Thais, Laotians,
Indians and “Westerners”.1868 Amongst the foreigners, Vietnamese were the majority. The
revised prisoners list mentions the names of at least 345 detainees described as Vietnamese,
listing 122 soldiers and 144 “spies” (civilians or combatants). For the remaining 79 detainees
(including women and children), who were probably civilians, there is no indication of their
status.1869 The presence of Vietnamese at S-21 is similarly confirmed by witnesses,1870
confessions,1871 and photographs.1872 The first arrest of a person described as Vietnamese
appears in the registrers on 7 February 1976. Duch states, however, that a small number of
Vietnamese were sent to S-21 as early as 1975,1873 and specified that their numbers grew as
the conflict with Vietnam escalated.
Arrest and transfer to S-21
434.
For the arrest and transfer of CPK cadres and RAK members from autonomous regions or
zones, two methods were used. In some cases, S-21 personnel would go to the zones and
make arrests, or collect prisoners arrested by the zone units, and then return to Phnom
Penh.1874 In other cases, CPK cadres and RAK members were summoned to Phnom Penh by
Office 870 and in particular by Nuon Chea (officially for a meeting), and they disappeared,
never to be seen again.1875 In the vast majority of cases, cadres passed through K-7 before
being taken to S-21 by members of units under S-71.1876 For the Phnom Penh units, and
particularly ministries and units of the Centre, it appears that beyond those cases where arrests
were carried out by S-21, members of S-71 units were also responsible for the arrests.1877 In
some instances, they also passed through K-7.1878 Sometimes, the ministries were charged
with transporting prisoners from their own departments to S-21.1879 Duch confirms that as a
rule, “S-21 [did not] have the right to arrest people”, adding that, in most cases, he was
simply informed of an arrest by the higher echelon so that he could organize the reception of
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.
112
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