Killing Fields' jailer gets 35 years

A UN-backed tribunal has sentenced the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer to 35 years for overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 people - the first verdict involving a senior member of the Killing Fields regime that devastated a generation of Cambodians.

Victims and their relatives burst into tears after learning yesterday that Kaing Guek Eav - also known as Duch - will serve only 19 years after being convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity after taking into account time already served.

That means the 67-year-old could one day walk free, a prospect that infuriated many who have been demanding justice for victims of the regime that killed an estimated 1.7 million people between 1975-79.

"I can't accept this," said Saodi Ouch, 46. "My family died - my older sister, my older brother. I'm the only one left."

More than three decades after the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge killed a quarter of Cambodia's population while trying to turn the country into a vast agrarian collective, Duch is so far the only person to face justice. The group's leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 and four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are awaiting trial for their part in the deaths from execution, starvation, torture and slave-like working conditions.

The tribunal said it took into consideration the historical context of the atrocities: The regime was the product of the Cold War. It also recognised Duch, who headed Tuol Sleng, a secret detention centre for the worst "enemies" of the state, was not a member of the Khmer Rouge's inner circle and had co-operated with the court.

During the 77-day proceedings, Duch admitted to overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 people who passed through the prison's gates. Torture used to extract confessions included pulling out prisoners' toenails, administering electric shocks and waterboarding. At least 100 people bled to death in crude medical experiments.

Unlike the other defendants, Duch has asked for forgiveness, even offering at one point to face a public stoning. But his surprise request on the final day of the trial to be acquitted and freed left many wondering if his contrition was sincere.

"He tricked everybody," said Chum Mey, 79, one of just a few people sent to Tuol Sleng prison - code-named S-21 - who survived. The key witness wiped his eyes. "See, my tears drop down again. I was victim during the Khmer Rouge, and now I'm a victim again."

Duch showed no emotion as he listened on Monday to the judge talk about the court's findings.

Judges noted the jailer was often present during interrogations at Tuol Sleng and signed off on all the tortures and executions, sometimes taking part himself. He said the court had rejected arguments he was acting on orders from the top because he was under duress or feared for his own life.

"He showed a high degree of efficiency and zeal," the judges wrote. "He worked tirelessly to ensure S-21 ran as efficiently as possible and did so out of unquestioning loyalty to his superiors."

A former maths teacher, Duch joined Pol Pot's movement in 1967, three years before the US started carpet-bombing Cambodia to try to wipe out Northern Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong inside the border. By 1976, he was the trusted head of its ultimate killing machine, S-21.

After a Vietnamese invasion forced the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979, Duch disappeared for almost two decades, living under various aliases and converting to Christianity. His chance discovery by a British journalist led to his arrest just over a decade ago.

Though most Cambodians doubted Duch would get the maximum life imprisonment, few expected he would get less than 35 years. The decision to cut 16 years for time already served means he has 18 years and 10 months left. That's around two days in prison for every person who died under his watch.

"It's unacceptable to have a man who killed thousands of people serving just 19 years," said Theary Seng, a human rights lawyer who lost both of her parents and has been working with others to find justice.

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