Khmer Rouge prison chief found guilty by war crimes court

A former Khmer Rouge prison chief was found guilty by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court Monday, in the first international trial for atrocities committed under the late 1970s regime.

 

 

Duch in 2007 and 1975-79. Photo: AFP/GETTY

 

The tribunal sentenced Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to 35 years in prison for his role in the deaths of at least 14,000 people as the Cambodian regime's chief torturer three decades ago.

 

Duch was found guilty of murder and torture, and crimes against humanity as chief of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.

 

Prosecutors had sought a maximum penalty of 40 years for 67-year-old Duch. The court gave him 35 years but said he will serve only 30 of those years because he was found to have been held illegally for five years by the Cambodian military.

 

CNA/ir