Khmer Rouge's chief torturer: Comrade Duch
Comrade Duch – the self confessed killer of at least 15,000 people – has waited a long time for his day in court.
17 Feb 2009
By Thomas Bell in Phnom Penh
The Telegraph (UK)
He was exposed in 1999 living under a false identity and working for an American charity in a refugee camp on the Thai border.
Duch, 66, was arrested shortly afterwards and has spent more than nine years in jail, a period of pretrial detention his lawyer Francois Roux called "unacceptable".
Today he is a born-again Christian, who converted after his wife was killed in a burglary in the nineties. But between 1976-79 he ran the Khmer Rouge's most secret security facility, a jail called Secret Police Office 21, or S-21.
According to the indictment prepared by the court's investigating judges every prisoner sent to Duch was automatically condemned to death or – in the language of the Khmer Rouge – "absolutely had to be smashed".
The document lays out the allegations that will be the basis of the trial.
It alleges that even if prisoners were innocent they had to be "smashed" to preserve the secrecy of S-21. The jail's function was to liquidate suspected traitors inside the ruling communist party. Duch extracted confessions of elaborate conspiracies to justify the purges, and long lists of names to purge in the future.
There were three interrogation teams – the "hot" team, the "cold" team and the "chewing" team.
Even if a suspect confessed immediately, Duch told the investigating judges, "anyone taken for interrogation mostly could not avoid torture".
When their confessions were complete, or when the prison had no space for newcomers, Duch wrote "smash" on a list of names. The victims were driven to the killing fields, clubbed on the neck and their throats were cut. Everything was meticulously documented.
"I feel very sorry about the killings and the past, I wanted to be a good communist, I did not take any pleasure in my work," Duch told Mr Dunlop. "All the confessions of the prisoners – I worried, is that true or not?" Duch later told the investigating judges he believed the Khmer Rouge central committee did not believe the confessions either, but used them as "excuses to eliminate those who represented obstacles."
One of the most shocking revelations in the court indictment is that "up to 1,000 prisoners" were "killed by having large quantities of blood withdrawn by medics".
As one hardened interrogator told investigators: "When I tortured I was not disturbed. But when they took the blood it was so terrifying I have never forgotten it."
According to a psychological examination commissioned by the court Duch is "highly intelligent". He is also "influenceable and impressionable".
"There is a strong trace of obsessive traits in Duch's personality, both past and present," the indictment reads. "He is meticulous, conscientious, control oriented, attentive to detail and seeks recognition from his superiors."
Now he is looking for absolution for his sins. Reports say he has been singing hymns, praying and taking communion in his cell.
After the first day's hearing his lawyer, Mr Roux, told journalists: "Duch wishes to ask forgiveness from the victims and from the Cambodian people. He will do so publicly He does not ask for this to happen immediately."
He is also promising to answer Cambodians' questions about how such evil could have happened – or at least to try.
"Duch is going to answer the questions that are going to be asked by the victims," Mr Roux promised. But he warned: "A trial has its limitations Is it possible to explain events that took place that go against humanity itself?"
17 Feb 2009
By Thomas Bell in Phnom Penh
The Telegraph (UK)
He was exposed in 1999 living under a false identity and working for an American charity in a refugee camp on the Thai border.
Duch, 66, was arrested shortly afterwards and has spent more than nine years in jail, a period of pretrial detention his lawyer Francois Roux called "unacceptable".
Today he is a born-again Christian, who converted after his wife was killed in a burglary in the nineties. But between 1976-79 he ran the Khmer Rouge's most secret security facility, a jail called Secret Police Office 21, or S-21.
According to the indictment prepared by the court's investigating judges every prisoner sent to Duch was automatically condemned to death or – in the language of the Khmer Rouge – "absolutely had to be smashed".
The document lays out the allegations that will be the basis of the trial.
It alleges that even if prisoners were innocent they had to be "smashed" to preserve the secrecy of S-21. The jail's function was to liquidate suspected traitors inside the ruling communist party. Duch extracted confessions of elaborate conspiracies to justify the purges, and long lists of names to purge in the future.
There were three interrogation teams – the "hot" team, the "cold" team and the "chewing" team.
Even if a suspect confessed immediately, Duch told the investigating judges, "anyone taken for interrogation mostly could not avoid torture".
When their confessions were complete, or when the prison had no space for newcomers, Duch wrote "smash" on a list of names. The victims were driven to the killing fields, clubbed on the neck and their throats were cut. Everything was meticulously documented.
"I feel very sorry about the killings and the past, I wanted to be a good communist, I did not take any pleasure in my work," Duch told Mr Dunlop. "All the confessions of the prisoners – I worried, is that true or not?" Duch later told the investigating judges he believed the Khmer Rouge central committee did not believe the confessions either, but used them as "excuses to eliminate those who represented obstacles."
One of the most shocking revelations in the court indictment is that "up to 1,000 prisoners" were "killed by having large quantities of blood withdrawn by medics".
As one hardened interrogator told investigators: "When I tortured I was not disturbed. But when they took the blood it was so terrifying I have never forgotten it."
According to a psychological examination commissioned by the court Duch is "highly intelligent". He is also "influenceable and impressionable".
"There is a strong trace of obsessive traits in Duch's personality, both past and present," the indictment reads. "He is meticulous, conscientious, control oriented, attentive to detail and seeks recognition from his superiors."
Now he is looking for absolution for his sins. Reports say he has been singing hymns, praying and taking communion in his cell.
After the first day's hearing his lawyer, Mr Roux, told journalists: "Duch wishes to ask forgiveness from the victims and from the Cambodian people. He will do so publicly He does not ask for this to happen immediately."
He is also promising to answer Cambodians' questions about how such evil could have happened – or at least to try.
"Duch is going to answer the questions that are going to be asked by the victims," Mr Roux promised. But he warned: "A trial has its limitations Is it possible to explain events that took place that go against humanity itself?"
8 comments:
How does this devil advocater Roux knows and answers this question? Of course only evil Duch can, you stupid mother fuckter.
Hope our millions Khmer souls hunts Roux for the rest of his heartless and darkness life. Go to hell with Duch, Devil Roux.
How does this devil advocater Roux knows and answers this question? Of course only evil Duch can, you stupid mother fucker.
Hope our millions Khmer souls hunts Roux for the rest of his heartless and darkness life. Go to hell with Duch, Devil Roux.
it would be very interesting and educational to find out the real motive behind the KR policy, especially why they killed their own people. i think even people claimed they already knew the answers. it is still a good idea to let the court question them and khmer people are very interested to hear their answers as well as letting the world learn more about this horrific history of cambodia. i think it is very useful to understand the whole scenerio. god bless cambodia.
Roux may have gotton paid twice: one from Viets and one from money collected from tax payers or else.
8;41 AM. The court can pose all questions that already wrote or instructed from Vietnam. Duch can answer only he was allowed to answer. Duch cannot tell the truth if Hor 5 Hong or other Viet Rouge were there. If he dares he will be shot or poisoned.
motives for killing are various:
1)since pol pot regime gripped tight over its people, this ruling could very possibly murder its people by just accusing and framing others just as "cia" or any other prominent figures that could potentially destabilize the regime.
2)pol pot the leader copied exactly the leading styles from Moa Se Tong then-leader during that time. however, compared with capacity of leading machines and brains with china, cambodia during pol pot was just an infant and could hardly protect itself from rough long-time enermies like siam and especially vietnam. this point is in agreement with the points raised by those who are not in favor with Jan. 7th celebration.
and it is worth raising the polices of vn back during Ho chi Minch, the policies targeting to moving to occupy the east, which is Cambodia in the present day. Vn strategically occupies khmer territories bit by bit by indoctrinate and poison khmer leaders, by following exact pattern of claiming Kampuchea Krom.
Vn would not want khmer to have political stability and would not want khmer to be united. by somehow, someway some means, vn would conquer in khmer spirits, in khmer leadership, which serves their long term planned policy: moving toward the east!
vietnamese and chinese is behind sihanouk
Who killed Khmer?
Khmer killed Khmer.
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