‘Killing Fields’: Chief torturer behind genocidal Khmer Rouge dies

PHNOM PENH: The chief torturer behind Cambodia’s genocidal Khmer Rouge died on Wednesday while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, according to a report.

Kaing Guek Eav, 77, better known by his alias Duch, served as the head of the infamous Tuol Sleng prison in the late 1970s and was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2012 by a UN-backed tribunal for his role in the “Killing Fields” regime.

The first member of the Khmer Rouge to stand trial, Duch’s testimony served as an important milestone for millions of Cambodians who suffered under the brutal regime.

His death leaves Khieu Samphan, the head of state and de facto public face of the regime, as the sole surviving Khmer Rouge member convicted by the tribunal, AFP reported.

“The souls of the victims and my parents have received justice,” Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at Tuol Sleng as a child, told AFP outside what is now a memorial center.