Pol Pot ordered killing of sailors, says jail chief

Associated Press in Phnom Penh
guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 17 June 2009

The Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, personally ordered the killing and burning of four western prisoners who were captured in 1978 while sailing in Cambodian waters, a former prison chief on trial for crimes against humanity has testified.

Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, who commanded the communist group's S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, said the prisoners were an American, an Australian, a New Zealander and a Briton.

He said Pol Pot, who died in 1998, personally ordered that the four westerners should be executed and burned. The order was conveyed by Nuon Chea, the regime's deputy leader and chief ideologue, who has also been charged by the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh.

"I received an order from my superiors that the four westerners had to be smashed and burned to ashes. It was an absolute order from my superiors," Duch said. "Pol Pot, not Uncle Nuon, personally ordered to burn the bodies."

In response to questioning from Judge Dame Silvia Cartwright of New Zealand, Duch denied reports that the four westerners were burned alive. He said their bodies were burned near the prison after they were executed.

He testified that only four westerners were detained while he commanded the S-21 jail, but prison records suggest there may have been as many as 11. Several Americans and Australians are listed, but only one New Zealander, Kerry Hamill, and one Briton, John Dewhirst.

Duch told the tribunal that several days before the Khmer Rouge were ousted by invading Vietnamese troops in early 1979 he was ordered to kill all inmates at the prison. "The purpose was to have no prisoners left at S-21" when Vietnam's troops arrived, he said.

Up to 16,000 men, women and children were tortured at S-21 before being killed during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule. About 1.7 million Cambodians died from forced labour, starvation, medical neglect and executions under the Khmer Rouge.

Duch is being tried by the UN-assisted tribunal in the Cambodian capital for crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.