United Nations Radio

The United Nations-backed Tribunal for Cambodia on Monday found a former Khmer Rouge prison chief guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to 35 years in prison.

Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch

Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, was the prison director at the infamous S-21 prison where he decided who would live and who would be executed.

According to reports an estimated 16,000 men, women and children entered S-21 and only 9 survived.

Duch is the first accused to face charges at the Cambodia Tribunal.

Lars Olsen, the legal Communication Officer of the tribunal underlines the importance of the trial.

"Today is truly an historic day and a milestone for Khmer Rouge victims because this is the first time in more than thirty years that a person who is believed to have held a leading position within the Khmer Rouge movement has been brought to trial and the trial has been completed."

Kaing Guek Eav will serve 19 years in prison after the tribunal deducted 16 years of the sentenced for the time he has already served in detention.

It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people died during the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, which was followed by a protracted civil war.

Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations Radio.

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