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Khmer Rouge Duch trial nears end | Khmer Rouge Duch trial nears end |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Lawyers at the trial of the Khmer Rouge's former prison chief in Cambodia are making closing arguments, after months of testimony. | |
Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, ran a prison where thousands of people were tortured and murdered in the late 1970s. | |
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. | |
As many as two million people are believed to have died under the Khmer Rouge, the Maoist regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. | |
'Awful reality' | |
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. | |
This week is the final chance for the prosecution and defence to have their say before the judges retire to consider their verdict. | |
WHO WERE THE KHMER ROUGE? Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979Founded and led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998 Abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopiaUp to two million people thought to have died from starvation, overwork or execution class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/2856771.stm">Key Khmer Rouge figures class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/7736224.stm">Duch: Symbol of horror | |
Time has also been set aside for lawyers representing dozens of people who lived through the Khmer Rouge era, including the only three confirmed survivors of the notorious S-21 prison. | |
Duch ran S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng. As many as 17,000 inmates are thought to have passed through the gates of that facility. | |
All 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. | |
Duch has admitted that he was in charge of S-21 and apologised in court for his part in the horrors committed there. | |
He has said he was only following orders because he feared for his life. He is expected to address the court later this week. | |
"At this moment it's very important to give credit to Duch for his guilty plea," his lawyer Francois Roux said on Sunday. "Duch has recognised his responsibility." | |
But lawyers for the victims told the court on Monday this was not enough. | |
"Even today, the accused has sought to evade or minimise his role and the awful reality that was S-21...and suffering that befell so many civil parties that we all represent," lawyer Karim Khan said. | |
Co-prosecutor Bill Smith said he believed the trial had helped Cambodians come to terms with their country's history. | |
"I think the trial has been very, very successful," he told the BBC. | "I think the trial has been very, very successful," he told the BBC. |
"The fact that the court has allowed the victims to participate through their civil party lawyers has been a real major success, connecting what's happening in that courtroom back to the people who experienced the tragedy of S-21." | "The fact that the court has allowed the victims to participate through their civil party lawyers has been a real major success, connecting what's happening in that courtroom back to the people who experienced the tragedy of S-21." |
The trial of four other top Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to begin in 2011. | |