Khmer Rouge top executioner Comrade Duch dies

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Kit Heren2 September 2020

Comrade Duch, who was convicted of crimes against humanity as a leading member of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge group, has died aged 77.

Duch was serving a life sentence for his crimes, which included running the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where thousands were tortured and killed.

The Khmer Rouge, a Maoist group led by revolutionary Pol Pot, were in control of Cambodia from 1975-1979. As many as 1.7 million people are thought to have died under the regime.

The cause of Duch's death remains unclear. He had been ill for many years before he died.

People outside the hospital where Duch died 
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He was the first Khmer Rouge leader to be convicted of crimes against humanity after a UN-backed court found him guilty in 2010. He was sentenced in 2012.

Duch, whose real name was Kaing Guek Eav, was a maths teacher, but when the communist Khmer Rouge rebels came to prominence he joined them. He became director of Tuol Sleng when they took power.

About 15,000 people were jailed in the prison, where most were tortured and forced to confess to made-up "crimes" against the regime.

They were then taken to the so-called killing fields outside the city and put to death.

After the Khmer Rouge were ousted when Vietnam invaded Cambodia, Duch fled to the countryside along with other leaders.

Survivors of the Tuol Sleng prison pose with books on the verdict against Duch in 2012 
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He hid his identity for decades until he was revealed as Comrade Duch by a journalist in 1999. He eventually admitted his crimes but said they were not his sole responsibility.

He said: "Whoever was arrested must die. It was the rule of our party. We had the responsibility to interrogate and give the confession to the central committee of the party."

Facing trial a decade on he said he was "deeply remorseful" and apologised to his victims' families. He later asked to be freed, which the families said undermined his show of remorse.

Only three members of the Khmer Rouge have been convicted of their crimes. The other two are former head of state Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, deputy to Pol Pot.

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