Former Khmer Rouge prison chief appeals conviction

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was found guilty last month of war crimes and crimes against humanity

via Khmer NZ

By Suy Se (AFP)

PHNOM PENH — Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch has appealed against his conviction by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court, his lawyers said Wednesday, describing the verdict as a "miscarriage of justice."

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was last month sentenced to 30 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity for overseeing the execution of 15,000 people, including women and children, at Tuol Sleng prison.

The appeal, filed late Tuesday, calls for Duch's acquittal, partly on the grounds that the court does not have jurisdiction to convict him, his lawyer Kang Ritheary told AFP.

"A low-ranking person like Duch should not have been tried," Kang Ritheary said.

The appeal notice argues that the tribunal "applied victor's justice" and was established for the sole purpose of prosecuting Duch.

Prosecutors are also appealing against the sentence, seeking the maximum 40-year jail term.

They also want enslavement, imprisonment, torture, rape, extermination and other inhumane acts to be added to Duch's list of convictions.

The 67-year-old was initially handed a jail term of 35 years but the court reduced the sentence on the grounds that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established.

It also took into account the years Duch has served since his arrest in 1999, meaning that he could walk free in about 19 years -- to the dismay of survivors and relatives of victims.

During his trial, Duch repeatedly apologised for overseeing the mass murder at the prison -- also known as S-21 -- but shocked the court in November by finally asking to be acquitted.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and execution.

Tuol Sleng was at the centre of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there for execution in a nearby orchard that served as a "killing field".

But the court found there was insufficient evidence to prove Duch personally committed torture or other inhumane acts, the judge said.

The joint trial of four more senior Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide is expected to start in 2011.

The court is also investigating whether to open more cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres, after a dispute between the international and Cambodian co-prosecutors over whether to pursue more suspects.

The Khmer Rouge was ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces in 1979, but continued to fight a civil war until 1998. Pol Pot died that same year.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle. He was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.