Khmer Rouge jail chief makes shock acquittal plea in trial

Prosecutors said the 67-year-old's sudden demand raised doubts about his admissions of responsibility and his pleas for forgiveness for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people at a notorious torture center.

“I would ask the chambers to release me. Thank you very much,” Duch said at the end of his closing statement to the court after a harrowing nine-month trial.

Shocked judges asked Duch's Cambodian lawyer Kar Savuth to confirm the request, and Kar Savuth said that Duch wanted to be acquitted on the grounds that he was not a senior member of the Khmer Rouge hierarchy.

Prosecutors earlier this week asked for Duch — a former mathematics teacher whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav — to get a jail sentence of 40 years for his role in the brutal 1975-1979 communist regime.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder. The defence has repeatedly said that he only carried out orders because his life and those of his family were at stake. Under their leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly two million people as they abolished money and property and set up huge labour camps in their bid to take Cambodia back to a rural “Year Zero.”

Duch's jail, known as Tuol Sleng or S-21, was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus. Men, women and children were taken from there for execution at a nearby orchard now known as the “Killing Fields”.

Duch is the first prominent Khmer Rouge cadre to go on trial at the court.

The three Cambodian judges and two foreign judges officially wrapped up the proceedings later Friday without making a ruling on Duch's request. They are expected to hand down a verdict by March.

During the trial, Duch's defence team had focussed on getting a lighter sentence, by downplaying his position within the regime and by highlighting his remorse, his time already served and his cooperation with the court.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email