Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge Executioner, Kaing Guek Eav, Guilty

“Every individual detained within S-21 was destined for execution in accordance with the Communist Party of Kampuchea policy to 'smash' all enemies,” according to a summary of the judgment read to the courtroom by Nil Nonn, the tribunal’s president.

The judgment also noted that “at least 100 S-21 detainees died after being bled to death by the S-21 Medical Unit.”

The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ខ្មែរក្រហម) was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. The regime led by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 was known as the Democratic Kampuchea.

This organization is remembered primarily for its policy of social engineering and the genocide this caused.[1] Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria). Brutal and arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1976 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide.

"I am solely and individually responsible for the loss of at least 12,380 lives."

Victims and their relatives wanted a life sentence for Duch, and many burst into tears after learning that he could face just 19 years in jail after taking into account time served. The sentence means he could one day walk free.

“I'm shocked, as everyone is right now,” said Theary Seng, a human rights lawyer who lost both of her parents. “It's just unacceptable to have a man who killed thousands of people serving just 19 years.”
“I can't accept this,” said a weeping Saodi Ouch, 46. “My family died, my older sister, my older brother. I'm the only one left.”