Crimes revisited: DuchFebruary 27, 2008
KHMER Rouge jailer Duch wept yesterday for the victims of Cambodia's 1970s genocide as he revisited his alleged crimes at the regime's most notorious killing field.
Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, has been charged by a UN-backed tribunal with crimes against humanity for his role as Khmer Rouge prison commandant.
The reconstruction of his actions before tribunal judges was a normal part of the genocide tribunal's ongoing investigation, officials said.
Duch walked court officials through the Choeung Ek execution site, "explaining what happened when he was in power", said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath.
"I cannot tell the details of what they said, but it was very significant," Reach Sambath said, adding that Duch broke down twice in tears during the almost four hours that he was at Choeung Ek.
At one point Duch knelt to pray before a tree whose trunk was reportedly used to bash out the brains of infants.
At the end of the session, Duch - a born-again Christian - also prayed before a towering glass-walled stupa containing thousands of skulls dug out of Choeung Ek's burial pits, many of which are still littered with human remains.
"He asked to pray for those victims who had died and you could see from his eyes that he was very emotional . . . we could see the tears coming down," Reach Sambath said. The media was not allowed to cover the proceedings.
Duch is to visit S-21, now the Tuol Sleng genocide museum, today. Of the 16,000 people thought to have been jailed there during Khmer Rouge rule, only 14 prisoners are believed to have survived. AP
KHMER Rouge jailer Duch wept yesterday for the victims of Cambodia's 1970s genocide as he revisited his alleged crimes at the regime's most notorious killing field.
Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, has been charged by a UN-backed tribunal with crimes against humanity for his role as Khmer Rouge prison commandant.
The reconstruction of his actions before tribunal judges was a normal part of the genocide tribunal's ongoing investigation, officials said.
Duch walked court officials through the Choeung Ek execution site, "explaining what happened when he was in power", said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath.
"I cannot tell the details of what they said, but it was very significant," Reach Sambath said, adding that Duch broke down twice in tears during the almost four hours that he was at Choeung Ek.
At one point Duch knelt to pray before a tree whose trunk was reportedly used to bash out the brains of infants.
At the end of the session, Duch - a born-again Christian - also prayed before a towering glass-walled stupa containing thousands of skulls dug out of Choeung Ek's burial pits, many of which are still littered with human remains.
"He asked to pray for those victims who had died and you could see from his eyes that he was very emotional . . . we could see the tears coming down," Reach Sambath said. The media was not allowed to cover the proceedings.
Duch is to visit S-21, now the Tuol Sleng genocide museum, today. Of the 16,000 people thought to have been jailed there during Khmer Rouge rule, only 14 prisoners are believed to have survived. AP
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