By Ek Madra
Reuters
Monday, June 29, 2009
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison wept at the trial of his torturer Monday and called for justice for the 1.7 million Cambodians who died under Pol Pot's tyrannical regime.
In a harrowing account of his detention at the S-21 interrogation center, where more than 14,000 people died, artist Vann Nath said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One," Pol Pot.
"I survived because Duch felt good when he walked into my workshop," Nath said in his testimony against the ailing chief of the S-21 prison, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav.
"My suffering cannot be erased -- the memories keep haunting me," said Nath, who lost two children to Pol Pot's 1975-1979 "killing fields" reign of terror.
With no death penalty in Cambodia, Duch faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted by the joint U.N.-Cambodian tribunal on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and homicide.
Duch has admitted his part in the deaths but maintains he was only following orders.
His trial is the first of five Pol Pot cadres indicted by the tribunal. The others are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former President Khieu Samphan, and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, all of whom have denied knowledge of the atrocities.
Pol Pot, the architect of the ultra-Maoist revolution, died in 1998 near the Thai-Cambodia border.
HARROWING ACCOUNT
Nath said he was beaten, electrocuted and left on the brink of starvation by Duch and his guards. He gave a graphic account of the barbaric acts of torture, which included the removal of fingernails and simulated drowning.
"Our legs were shackled, we were so hungry we ate any insects we could grab and were beaten by the guards," said Nath, who was one of only seven people to survive the prison.
"I heard prisoners scream, I heard sounds and voices of the mothers who cried when security guards tried to take their babies away. The suffering was so bad."
Nath, who was the first Khmer Rouge survivor to appear before the tribunal, said he wanted to tell the world about the horrors of the regime and sought justice for the people who died of execution, disease, starvation and exhaustion.
"Now I have the ability to testify before this chamber. This is my privilege, this is my honor," he told the court. "I do not want anything more than justice."
(Editing by Martin Petty and Sanjeev Miglani)
Reuters
Monday, June 29, 2009
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison wept at the trial of his torturer Monday and called for justice for the 1.7 million Cambodians who died under Pol Pot's tyrannical regime.
In a harrowing account of his detention at the S-21 interrogation center, where more than 14,000 people died, artist Vann Nath said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One," Pol Pot.
"I survived because Duch felt good when he walked into my workshop," Nath said in his testimony against the ailing chief of the S-21 prison, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav.
"My suffering cannot be erased -- the memories keep haunting me," said Nath, who lost two children to Pol Pot's 1975-1979 "killing fields" reign of terror.
With no death penalty in Cambodia, Duch faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted by the joint U.N.-Cambodian tribunal on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and homicide.
Duch has admitted his part in the deaths but maintains he was only following orders.
His trial is the first of five Pol Pot cadres indicted by the tribunal. The others are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former President Khieu Samphan, and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, all of whom have denied knowledge of the atrocities.
Pol Pot, the architect of the ultra-Maoist revolution, died in 1998 near the Thai-Cambodia border.
HARROWING ACCOUNT
Nath said he was beaten, electrocuted and left on the brink of starvation by Duch and his guards. He gave a graphic account of the barbaric acts of torture, which included the removal of fingernails and simulated drowning.
"Our legs were shackled, we were so hungry we ate any insects we could grab and were beaten by the guards," said Nath, who was one of only seven people to survive the prison.
"I heard prisoners scream, I heard sounds and voices of the mothers who cried when security guards tried to take their babies away. The suffering was so bad."
Nath, who was the first Khmer Rouge survivor to appear before the tribunal, said he wanted to tell the world about the horrors of the regime and sought justice for the people who died of execution, disease, starvation and exhaustion.
"Now I have the ability to testify before this chamber. This is my privilege, this is my honor," he told the court. "I do not want anything more than justice."
(Editing by Martin Petty and Sanjeev Miglani)
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