30 Years Later, Khmer Rouge Goes on Trial

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»

'Duch' accepts blame for killing babies, children, teens

(NEWSER) - The former chief jailer of the Khmer Rouge told a war crimes tribunal yesterday that it was standard policy to kill babies and children by smashing their heads against trees, the Independent reports. The commander, known as Duch, accepted full responsibility for his actions. He told the tribunal that he ordered babies who arrived at the detention center he ran be killed out of fear they would someday seek revenge. More»

Head of Cambodian prison charged with war crimes, torture, premeditated murder

(NEWSER) - One of the most feared figures of Pol Pot's fanatical regime in Cambodia has begun to tell his story on the witness stand as hearings begin in his trial, reports the Los Angeles Times. The former head of a Khmer Rough prison, Kaing Khev Iev—known as Duch—is charged with crimes against humanity, torture, murder, and war crimes. More»

Pol Pot ally held for 8 years asks genocide tribunal to set bail

(NEWSER) - The Cambodian “Killing Fields” tribunal heard an application for bail today from Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, the math teacher who became the chief jailer of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime. Of at least 14,000 who went into Duch’s prison, only 10 survived, Reuters reports. 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»