Khmer Rouge prison chief awaits verdict

Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, ran Toul Sleng — the secret detention center reserved for “enemies” of the state. He admitted overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 men, women and children who passed through its gates and asked for forgiveness during his 77-day trial.

Though widely expected to be found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, many in this still-traumatized nation are anxiously awaiting the sentence. Anything short of the maximum life behind bars could trigger public outrage.

“All I want before I die is to see justice served,” said Bou Meng, 69, one of the few people sent to Toul Sleng who survived. “He admitted everything,” he said. “If he gets anything less than life, it will only add to my suffering.”

The U.N.-assisted tribunal represents the first serious attempt to hold Khmer Rouge leaders accountable for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Duch (pronounced DOIK) is the first of five surviving senior figures of the regime to go on trial. Unlike the four other defendants, Duch was not among the ruling clique. He insisted during the trial that he was only following orders from the top, and on the final day he asked to be acquitted and freed — angering many of the victims.

A former math teacher, Duch joined Pol Pot's movement in 1967. Ten years later, he was the trusted head of its ultimate killing machine, S-21, which became the codename for Toul Sleng.

Only 14 prisoners are thought to have survived ordeals at the prison that included medieval-like tortures to extract “confessions” from supposed enemies of the regime, followed by executions and burials in mass graves outside Phnom Penh. The gruesome litany of torture included pulling out prisoners' toenails, administering electric shocks,

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