Duch (middle) in court.By Suy Se
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Prosecutors at Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court on Monday appealed against a Khmer Rouge prison chief's 30-year jail sentence for the execution of 15,000 people, saying it was too lenient.
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was convicted last month of war crimes and crimes against humanity for overseeing the mass murder of men, women and children at Tuol Sleng prison in the late 1970s.
The sentence "doesn't accurately reflect... the seriousness of crimes that he committed," international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley told AFP.
He said his team would seek the maximum 40-year jail term for Duch, as they had during the original trial.
The 67-year-old is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face an international tribunal, and the ruling was hailed as a historic day for Cambodia. His lawyer has said he also plans to appeal.
Many survivors and relatives of victims of the 1975-1979 regime were dismayed by the sentence, which took into account the years Duch has served since his arrest, meaning he could walk free in about 19 years.
"I applaud the prosecutors' decision. I am happy for the prosecutors' help in this case as we victims have no right to appeal," Chum Mey, one of a handful of inmates who survived Tuol Sleng, said Monday.
"The victims are not happy with the short sentence. We want Duch to be jailed for longer," he told AFP.
Duch was initially handed 35 years, but the court reduced the sentence on the grounds that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established.
"A prosecutor serves the people and he or she has to listen to the people. We heard the people and that was part of our consideration," said Cayley.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and executions.
Prosecutors want enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape, extermination and other inhumane acts to be added to Duch's list of convictions.
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has also said the sentence was too lenient.
During his trial, Duch repeatedly apologised for overseeing the mass murder at the prison -- also known as S-21 -- but shocked the court in November by finally asking to be acquitted.
Tuol Sleng was at the centre of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there for execution in a nearby orchard that served as a "killing field".
But the court found there was insufficient evidence to prove Duch personally committed torture or other inhumane acts, the judge said.
The joint trial of four more senior Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide is expected to start in 2011.
Prosecutors said Monday they had filed their final submission in that case, requesting the suspects be indicted and sent for trial on charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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.
The Khmer Rouge was ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces in 1979, but continued to fight a civil war until 1998. Pol Pot died that same year.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle. He was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Prosecutors at Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court on Monday appealed against a Khmer Rouge prison chief's 30-year jail sentence for the execution of 15,000 people, saying it was too lenient.
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was convicted last month of war crimes and crimes against humanity for overseeing the mass murder of men, women and children at Tuol Sleng prison in the late 1970s.
The sentence "doesn't accurately reflect... the seriousness of crimes that he committed," international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley told AFP.
He said his team would seek the maximum 40-year jail term for Duch, as they had during the original trial.
The 67-year-old is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face an international tribunal, and the ruling was hailed as a historic day for Cambodia. His lawyer has said he also plans to appeal.
Many survivors and relatives of victims of the 1975-1979 regime were dismayed by the sentence, which took into account the years Duch has served since his arrest, meaning he could walk free in about 19 years.
"I applaud the prosecutors' decision. I am happy for the prosecutors' help in this case as we victims have no right to appeal," Chum Mey, one of a handful of inmates who survived Tuol Sleng, said Monday.
"The victims are not happy with the short sentence. We want Duch to be jailed for longer," he told AFP.
Duch was initially handed 35 years, but the court reduced the sentence on the grounds that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established.
"A prosecutor serves the people and he or she has to listen to the people. We heard the people and that was part of our consideration," said Cayley.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and executions.
Prosecutors want enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape, extermination and other inhumane acts to be added to Duch's list of convictions.
Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has also said the sentence was too lenient.
During his trial, Duch repeatedly apologised for overseeing the mass murder at the prison -- also known as S-21 -- but shocked the court in November by finally asking to be acquitted.
Tuol Sleng was at the centre of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there for execution in a nearby orchard that served as a "killing field".
But the court found there was insufficient evidence to prove Duch personally committed torture or other inhumane acts, the judge said.
The joint trial of four more senior Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide is expected to start in 2011.
Prosecutors said Monday they had filed their final submission in that case, requesting the suspects be indicted and sent for trial on charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
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.
The Khmer Rouge was ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces in 1979, but continued to fight a civil war until 1998. Pol Pot died that same year.
Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle. He was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.
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