28 Jul 2010
By Simon Roughneen
for ISN Security Watch
The first conviction against one of the lead perpetrators of mass murder under the Khmer Rouge was issued on Monday, but questions remain about the tribunal process, Simon Roughneen writes for ISN Security Watch.
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The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a hybrid UN-Cambodian war crimes tribunal, sentenced 'Comrade Duch', a former Khmer Rouge chief jailer and executioner to 35 years in prison Monday for overseeing the deaths of thousands of people in the gristly 'S-21' detention and torture center during the height of the Pol Pot regime.
An estimated 1.7 million people, a quarter of the country's population, were killed during the Communist Khmer Rouge era, as Pol Pot and his lieutenants sought to return the country to 'Year Zero', abolishing money and property and herding people out of cities and into massive labor camps. Across the country, an estimated 5 million survivors of the Khmer Rouge era remain, alongside thousands of Khmer Rouge officers and foot soldiers.
Small time for big crime
Relatives of victims wept as the verdict was handed out, but for some, the catharsis turned to anger and disappointment as it became apparent that Kaing Guek Eav, to give his real name, may serve no more than 18-19 years, by which time he will be 85-86 years old. He has already spent 11 years in jail, since Irish journalist Nic Dunlop discovered the executioner living quietly under a pseudonym in rural Cambodia. The sentence took into account time already served, meaning that Comrade Duch could one day leave jail as a free albeit elderly man.
Please click here to read more...
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a hybrid UN-Cambodian war crimes tribunal, sentenced 'Comrade Duch', a former Khmer Rouge chief jailer and executioner to 35 years in prison Monday for overseeing the deaths of thousands of people in the gristly 'S-21' detention and torture center during the height of the Pol Pot regime.
An estimated 1.7 million people, a quarter of the country's population, were killed during the Communist Khmer Rouge era, as Pol Pot and his lieutenants sought to return the country to 'Year Zero', abolishing money and property and herding people out of cities and into massive labor camps. Across the country, an estimated 5 million survivors of the Khmer Rouge era remain, alongside thousands of Khmer Rouge officers and foot soldiers.
Small time for big crime
Relatives of victims wept as the verdict was handed out, but for some, the catharsis turned to anger and disappointment as it became apparent that Kaing Guek Eav, to give his real name, may serve no more than 18-19 years, by which time he will be 85-86 years old. He has already spent 11 years in jail, since Irish journalist Nic Dunlop discovered the executioner living quietly under a pseudonym in rural Cambodia. The sentence took into account time already served, meaning that Comrade Duch could one day leave jail as a free albeit elderly man.
Please click here to read more...
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