Advokaterne i FN-tribunalet mod den 67-årige Kaing Guek Eav giver i denne uge deres afsluttende bemærkninger efter måneders vidneafhøringer. Kaing er bedre kendt som Comrade Duch, der ledede det frygtede Tuol Sleng-fængsel i de sene 1970’ere, skriver BBC online mandag.
PHNOM PENH, MONDAY: Comrade Duch ran a prison named S-21 also known as Tuol Sleng where thousands of people were tortured and murdered during the rule of Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
The 67-year-old is accused of crimes against humanity and faces a life sentence in prison if convicted. He is the first of five top Khmer Rouge figures to face the UN-backed tribunal.
Duch went on trial in February, after years of wrangling over the establishment of the tribunal. A verdict in his case is expected early next year.
All 17,000 inmates of Tuol Sleng but a handful were tortured, forced to “confess” to crimes against the regime and then put to death at the so-called killing fields just outside Phnom Penh.
Co-prosecutor Bill Smith said he believed the trial had helped Cambodians come to terms with their country’s history.
The trial of four other top Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to begin in 2011.
– reports BBC online Monday
