Khmer Rouge Chief Admits Smashing Babies

Owns up to 'torture and execution' in trial

(NEWSER) - On trial for his role in Cambodia’s murderous Khmer Rouge regime, the man known as Duch made his first public apology today for overseeing the deaths of thousands at the prison he ran, the Financial Times reports. “I am responsible for the crimes committed at S-21, especially the torture and execution of the people there,” Kaing Khev Iev said. “May I be permitted to apologize.” More»

Prison warden accused of torture, murder of 20,000 in court

(NEWSER) - Thirty years after the end of its reign of terror, the Khmer Rouge went on trial in Cambodia for the first time today. In the dock in Phnom Penh is the commander of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, which became a symbol of the brutality of Pol Pot's murderous regime. As the Times of London reports, the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Comrade Duch, is a historic leap forward for the Southeast Asian nation. More»

UN-backed tribunal opens amid doubts senior leaders will be brought to justice

(NEWSER) - A UN tribunal has charged an ex-Khmer Rouge prison chief with crimes against humanity in the torturing and killing of as many as 17,000 people during the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. Kang Kek Ieu, known as Duch, ordered inmates executed at the "killing fields" near Phnom Penh, the BBC reports. He is one of five suspects the tribunal plans to investigate. More»

(AP) - The former head of the Khmer Rouge's main torture center asked the Cambodian people today to give him "the harshest punishment." Kaing Guek Eav, alias "Duch," who headed the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, made the statement during his UN genocide trial, after a widow wept before the court, demanding justice for the death of her husband and four children. More»

Denies rift over untried suspects caused move

(NEWSER) - The international prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal has abruptly resigned, the Independent reports. Robert Petit insisted that the resignation is due to family reasons, but he warned that the court is in danger from corruption and political meddling from Cambodian government official. Five former Khmer Rouge cadres have been charged with crimes against humanity but Petit has long insisted more should be tried. More»