Thursday, 13 August 2009

Duch Would Accept Stoning for His Crimes

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 August 2009

The former chief of a notorious Khmer Rouge prison said on Wednesday he wished he could be stoned to death for his crimes, as people in the Bible had.

“If it were the Khmer culture, like after the death of Jesus Christ, of people throwing stones…I would accept if the Cambodian people did the same,” said Duch, a born-again Christian facing atrocity crimes charges for the deaths of 12,380 people.

His statement followed a claim for justice by Ou Thon, 64, who said she lost all four of her children and her husband to the Khmer Rouge, at the killing fields of Choeung Ek, which were administered by Duch.

Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, admitted it was the Cambodian people who suffered the most under the regime.

“I recognize my culpability,” he said.

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