In abrupt reversal, Khmer Rouge prison chief asks tribunal to release him

The trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief Kang Kek Ieu, better known as Duch, draws a crowd at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the U.N.-Cambodian war crimes tribunal is officially known. (Mak Remissa / European Pressphoto Agency / November 27, 2009)

November 28, 2009
By Brendan Brady
Los Angeles Times

After months of admitting guilt and expressing remorse, Kang Kek Ieu, better known as Duch, challenges the legitimacy of the U.N.-Cambodian war crimes tribunal.

Reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia - A former Khmer Rouge prison chief who presided over the torture of about 15,000 prisoners who were later executed astonished observers of Cambodia's first genocide trial Friday by asking judges to release him because he had already served enough prison time and arguing that he shouldn't have been prosecuted in the first place.

After months of professed remorse, Kang Kek Ieu, known in tribunal filings as Kaing Guek Eav but best known by his revolutionary name, Comrade Duch, challenged the legitimacy of the 9-month-old U.N.-assisted war crimes tribunal as it ended its hearings in his case.

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