Summary
25 August 2010
A former Khmer Rouge prison chief found guilty of crimes against humanity is appealing his prison sentence. Kaing Guek Eav was jailed for 35 years for his role in the torture and murder of thousands of people in Cambodia.
Reporter:
Guy De Launey
The former Khmer Rouge Prison, S-21
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Report
Comrade Duch's appeal mirrors one announced by the prosecutors earlier this month. They said the sentence passed was too lenient as, with time already served, Duch could be free in at most 19 years.
That's hard for many survivors of the Khmer Rouge era to swallow. Duch's appeal may add to their unease. He admitted overseeing the systematic torture and murder of thousands of people at the S-21 detention centre and even apologised to the victims' relatives in court.
But the former prison chief now says he shouldn't have been on trial at all. The tribunal was set up to prosecute the surviving senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge and those most responsible for the worst atrocities. Duch claims he falls into neither category. The appeals may be heard as early as the end of November.
Guy De Launey, 大象传媒 News, Phnom Penh
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Vocabulary
- comrade
member of a communist political party
- mirrors
reflects or is similar to
- prosecutors
lawyers who try to prove in a trial that the person charged with a crime is guilty
- sentence
punishment after being found guilty of a crime
- lenient
not as strict as expected
- time already served
time already spent in prison
- era
a period of time or history which has particular characteristics that identify it e.g. the iPod era
- systematic
detailed and carefully planned way of doing a task
- tribunal
a special court dealing with particular problems e.g. a war crimes tribunal
- atrocities
terrible, cruel and violent acts, often associated with wars
