Posted on July 26, 2010 by Manali Parikh
A UN-backed war crimes court on Monday sentenced a former Khmer Rouge prison chief to 35 years in prison for his role in Cambodia’s “Killing Fields” atrocities in the late 1970s.
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to be convicted in an international tribunal over the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork and execution at the hands of the regime. He was found guilty of murder and torture and crimes against humanity for running Tuol Sleng prison, a converted school that symbolised the horrors of the ultra-communist regime blamed for 1.7 million deaths in 1975 to 1979. The 67-year-old was initially given 35 years but the court reduced the jail sentence after ruling that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established.
Duch admitted to overseeing the torture and killing of more than 14,000 people in his prison, also known as S-21 but said he was only carrying out orders. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison sentence from the tribunal, which did not have the power to impose the death penalty. Duch, wearing a blue shirt, slumped in his chair as the tribunal read out the verdict in a courtroom shielded by a huge bullet-proof screen to prevent revenge attacks by Khmer Rouge victims. His case is the first heard by the joint UN-Cambodian court set up to prosecute the Khmer Rouge. It is seen as a critical test for a multi-million dollar tribunal that has struggled to end decades of silence on the darkest chapter of Cambodia’s modern history.
Thousands huddled around televisions in cafes and homes to watch live broadcasts of the verdict. The joint trial of four more senior Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide is expected to start in 2011. The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres after a dispute between the international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to be convicted in an international tribunal over the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork and execution at the hands of the regime. He was found guilty of murder and torture and crimes against humanity for running Tuol Sleng prison, a converted school that symbolised the horrors of the ultra-communist regime blamed for 1.7 million deaths in 1975 to 1979. The 67-year-old was initially given 35 years but the court reduced the jail sentence after ruling that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established.
Duch admitted to overseeing the torture and killing of more than 14,000 people in his prison, also known as S-21 but said he was only carrying out orders. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison sentence from the tribunal, which did not have the power to impose the death penalty. Duch, wearing a blue shirt, slumped in his chair as the tribunal read out the verdict in a courtroom shielded by a huge bullet-proof screen to prevent revenge attacks by Khmer Rouge victims. His case is the first heard by the joint UN-Cambodian court set up to prosecute the Khmer Rouge. It is seen as a critical test for a multi-million dollar tribunal that has struggled to end decades of silence on the darkest chapter of Cambodia’s modern history.
Thousands huddled around televisions in cafes and homes to watch live broadcasts of the verdict. The joint trial of four more senior Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide is expected to start in 2011. The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres after a dispute between the international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.
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