Decades after the Khmer Rouge regime terrorized Cambodia, one of the Khmer Rouge trials has concluded. One of the Khmer Rouge’s chief butchers, Kang Kek Iew or Kaing Guek Eav, or “Comrade Duch” was captured in 1999 and has been on trial since then. The trial of the man who presided over more than 17,000 executions has concluded. The most recently concluded trial saw the man who presided over 17,000 or more executions received only 19 years for his crimes, after credit for time served. The light sentence incensed the survivors and families of victims. Source of article – Former Khmer Rouge executioner gets 19 years for genocide by Personal Money Store.
Warden for the Khmer Rouge murdered thousands
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia. The goal of leader Pol Pot and also the Khmer Rouge was to liquidate the upper and middle class, and found a collectivist farming utopia. The regime immediately set about executing any person they considered opponents, including educators, intellectuals, and perhaps individuals that wore glasses. Kaing Guek Eav was the head of security for the Santebal, the state police, and was put in charge of Tuol Sleng prison, or S-21. Over 17,000 inmates were sent to Toul Sleng to be tortured and executed. Of the thousands which were sent there, only 12 survived Tuol Sleng.
Discovery and detainment
When the Khmer Rouge were toppled in 1979, their personnel scattered. Pol Pot went into seclusion, eventually being forced into house arrest until his death in 1998. Other officials of the Khmer Rouge went on trial, and some still are. Kaing Guek Eav surrendered to authorities in 1999, having been discovered near the Thai-Cambodian border living under an assumed name. He was brought before the Khmer Rouge tribunals, and went to trial. He was credited 16 years against his 35 year sentence for crimes against humanity, for 11 years served and 5 years of pre-trial detention, on July 26, 2010. He will serve 19 years in prison, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
What you need, my son
People who lived under the Khmer Rouge are appalled at the sentence, according to the BBC. Millions perished at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and one of its chief henchmen may live to be released. One of the three nevertheless living survivors of Tuol Sleng, Chum Mey, was present at the trial. His wife and children were tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge. He said that “millions of people died, lots of cash has been spent on the court – and also the perpetrator is free (in 19 years)? I am not happy with that.”
Additional reading
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge
csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0726/Khmer-Rouge-executioner-found-guilty-but-Cambodians-say-sentence-too-light
bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10763409
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