Khang Khek Ieu ("Duch"): Head of Special Security for Khmer Rouge; served as commandant of the infamous prison “S-21” (“Tuol Sleng”).
Born: November 17, 1942
Charges: Crimes against humanity; torture. Trial set to begin early 2009.
Duch was an early member of the Khmer Rouge leadership. From 1971 to 1974, prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover, Duch held Khmer Rouge prisoners in a facility named “S-21.” After the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government, Duch moved S-21 closer to the capital and reestablished the prison in a former high school outside of Phnom Penh which came to be known as “Tuol Sleng.” In this notorious facility, Duch and his security officials allegedly extracted forced confessions of political opponents through torture. Victims reportedly admitted they were “agents of foreign powers,” which provided a rationale for their executions. The family members of political targets were also killed. On one day in 1977, 114 women who were either married or related to previously executed men were executed. A note signed by Duch in response to an inquiry about the disposition of nine children arrested because of political associations of their families, simply stated “kill them all.” Other documents provide evidence that Duch oversaw experiments performed on prisoners and prisoners’ bodies involving torture tactics. Duch has confessed to killing prisoners personally in the waning days of the Khmer Rouge. As the Vietnamese invaded, Duch remained in S-21, trying desperately to destroy all documents revealing his role in the Khmer Rouge regime. He escaped to Thailand in 1979.
In the 1980s and early ’90s, Duch lived in Cambodia in hiding as a teacher as under the name of “Hang Pin,” in a town near the Thai border. In 1995, his wife was murdered during an attack on their home. Shortly thereafter Duch converted to Christianity. He joined an evangelical church and become a lay pastor. In 1999, he turned himself in to the authorities. His trial is anticipated to begin in early 2009.
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