DPA
Phnom Penh - The crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s finally came to court in 2009 when Comrade Duch, the former head of the regime's torture and execution centre, went on trial in Phnom Penh for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The trial is significant as Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, is the first Khmer Rouge member to be prosecuted in an internationally recognized court. The verdict is due in early 2010. Moreover, his case and that of four other surviving Khmer Rouge leaders will likely have implications that reverberate beyond Cambodia's borders.
Nobody knows how many people died under the Khmer Rouge. Most estimates range between 1.5 and 2 million people from a population of perhaps 8 million. For many people Cambodia remains defined by its Killing Fields moniker.
Despite the level of killing, the tribunal has gone largely unnoticed in the international media. However, trial observers said it marks a key component in a shift in international criminal justice away from impunity and towards some sort of accountability for those who commit the worst crimes.
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