Vann Nath has held art exhibitions drawing on his time in Tuol SlengMonday, 29 June 2009
By Guy DeLauney
BBC News, Phnom Penh
Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Tribunal is due to hear for the first time from a survivor of a notorious detention centre.
Around 15,000 people were detained at the facility known as S-21 or Tuol Sleng.
There were only seven known survivors - and the man who ran the facility is on trial for crimes against humanity.
Vann Nath, the survivor now due to speak, has been waiting for his day in court for 30 years.
That is how long it has taken to bring to account the man best known as Comrade Duch.
Now at last the one-time prisoner is set to confront his former jailer across the trial chamber.
It should produce compelling testimony.
The Tribunal has already heard plenty from Comrade Duch himself - as well as a number of expert witnesses.
But Vann Nath can provide a unique perspective. He is one of only three men alive who can say they know what it is like to have been a prisoner at S-21.
Vann Nath owed his survival to his skills as a painter. He was forced to produce portraits of Khmer Rouge leaders - on pain of death.
"I thought that if I could do good pictures and they were satisfied with what I painted, they would be happy and I would survive," said Vann Nath.
"But if I couldn't do what they liked then I would die," he said.
Vann Nath's portraits passed muster - and he has since become one of Cambodia's most famous artists.
His work often depicts scenes from S-21 - the torture, murder and brutality from which he was fortunate to escape with his life.
Around 15,000 people were detained at the facility known as S-21 or Tuol Sleng.
There were only seven known survivors - and the man who ran the facility is on trial for crimes against humanity.
Vann Nath, the survivor now due to speak, has been waiting for his day in court for 30 years.
That is how long it has taken to bring to account the man best known as Comrade Duch.
Now at last the one-time prisoner is set to confront his former jailer across the trial chamber.
It should produce compelling testimony.
The Tribunal has already heard plenty from Comrade Duch himself - as well as a number of expert witnesses.
But Vann Nath can provide a unique perspective. He is one of only three men alive who can say they know what it is like to have been a prisoner at S-21.
Vann Nath owed his survival to his skills as a painter. He was forced to produce portraits of Khmer Rouge leaders - on pain of death.
"I thought that if I could do good pictures and they were satisfied with what I painted, they would be happy and I would survive," said Vann Nath.
"But if I couldn't do what they liked then I would die," he said.
Vann Nath's portraits passed muster - and he has since become one of Cambodia's most famous artists.
His work often depicts scenes from S-21 - the torture, murder and brutality from which he was fortunate to escape with his life.
