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PHNOM PENH , Cambodia — A United Nations-backed court found the commandant of the central Khmer Rouge prison and torture house guilty on Monday of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sent him back to prison for a total of 19 years. The commandant, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was the first major Khmer Rouge figure convicted in connection with the deaths of 1.7 million people from 1975 to 1979. Efficient and ruthless, Duch, 67, oversaw the torture and execution of at least 14,000 prisoners, and for many people here, the sentence seemed shockingly light. “I felt it was like a slap in the face,” said Bou Meng, 69, one of a handful of survivors of the Tuol Sleng prison, who testified at the trial about the torture he suffered there. Standing ramrod straight as the verdict was read, and with a Bible by his side, Duch, a convert to Christianity, seemed to struggle to maintain his composure, his jaw clenching slightly. In a complex ruling, the judges handed down a sentence of 35 years reduced by 5 years because of illegal detention in a military prison and by 11 more years for time already served. That means that Duch could possibly walk free one day, particularly if his term is reduced for good behavior. The verdict took into account mitigating circumstances, which a court spokesman, Lars Olsen, said included Duch’s cooperation, his admission of responsibility and limited expressions of remorse, the coercive environment of the Khmer Rouge period and the possibility of his rehabilitation. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/world/asia/27cambodia.html?_r=1 Tags: Duch Gets 19 Yrs For War Crimes
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