Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 17/02/2009: Kaing Guek Euv, also known as Duch, in court on the first day of the initial hearing of his trial at the ECCC.
©John Vink/ Magnum  

The initial hearing prior to the trial of Duch - which opening date will be decided at the end of these technical debates - started on Tuesday February 17th, in the presence of a crowd of international media workers. Its goal? “To define the rules,” co-investigating judge Marcel Lemonde explained during a break. The Court reviewed a number of issues, including protection measures for victims, the admissibility of civil party applications or the lists of witnesses and experts submitted by the various parties. This was the first hearing to take place before the Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, established in 2006 to try the former leaders and those most responsible for the crimes of the bloody regime.

After 30 years of waiting...

Multimedia slideshow on the first day of the trial of the former chief of interrogation and torture centre S-21, Duch. Images by John Vink/ Magnum and Vandy Rattana, sound by John Vink/ Magnum

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Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 30/12/2008: Pipes used for the filling of Boeung Kak lake with sand dredged from the Mekong.

Since Singapore was banned from mining sand in Indonesia, the city-state – which surface area covers less than 650 km2 – is struggling to find the sand it needs for its gigantic land reclamation and construction projects. As a result, it turned to a much less discriminating country, where the buying cost of sand remains quite inexpensive, Cambodia. For the last year, the provinces of Koh Kong and Kandal have seen a heavy traffic of boats, which sometimes arrive in dozens to dredge the seabed or dig along the coasts to collect as much sand as possible and export it to Singapore. There, companies will sell it for as much as four times the initial price, according to environmentalist NGO Global Witness, who also points at the lack of transparency around this market. Something that stirs greed but also worries marine conservation organisations, who fear the impact of the intensive exploitation. Justifiably so, as villagers have already complained with the authorities after the resulting collapse of their houses.

Kampong Som (Cambodia). 28/08/2007: Provincial court of Kampong Som
© John Vink / Magnum

It is retirement time for the sixty-year-old. The order given to all ministries in Cambodia in the directive issued on January 12th 2009 by prime Minister Hun Sen cannot be clearer. Once the fateful retirement age - sixty years - is reached, civil servants are required to leave their positions. The measure is officially aimed at improving “governance” and “efficiency” in the management of the administration. But it is not to the liking of all those concerned, little inclined to exchange their small salary for a most hypothetical pension. In order to avoid being forced to leave, some have requested more or less successfully the intervention of high officials, while others have not hesitated to falsify civil status documents to make themselves a few years younger. In the Ministry of Justice, the administration proves even more understanding with its old magistrates, who are allowed “extensions” due to staff shortage.