Kambodscha: Khmer Rouge Survivor Recalls ‘Hellish‘ Ordeal

The first survivor from the Khmer Rouge’s notorious S-21 prison camp takes a stand.

A Cambodian artist is testifying in a trial against Pol Pot’s top torturer, Kaing Guek Eav.

He describes the experience like „hell“.

[Van Nath, Prison Survivor]:
„When there were insects falling from the lamp, I collected them and ate them. When the security guards saw this, they asked, ‚What are you eating‘? So they hit me until I spat out the grasshopper or cricket from my mouth.“

He was not only starving but also kept in filthy conditions.

[Van Nath, Prison Survivor]:
„When I didn’t shower for such a long time, there were lice on my body and head. I scratched everywhere. So I was treated like a wicked animal.“

Duch is being tried for his role as chief of torture center S-21, where more than 14,000 prisoners died.

He’s the first Pol Pot cadre to accept blame for crimes committed by the regime 30 years ago. 1.7 million people died in Cambodia during/between the regime’s reign.

Duch is tipped to be a key witness in the future trials of those deemed „most responsible“ by the tribunal, for one of the darkest chapters in the 20th century.

The other four who are indicted include „Brother Number Two“ Nuon Chea, the regime’s ex-president and foreign minister, and his wife. They deny knowledge of any atrocities during Pol Pot’s ultra-Maoist revolution.

Duch is the first to be tried under a joint U.N.-Cambodian tribunal – fraught with problems since the process started three years ago.

(NTDTV)