Former Khmer Rouge Commander Who Oversaw Mass Killings Dies at 77

Commander Duch, a senior figure during Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime who oversaw thousands of killings at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison camp in the 1970s, died on Wednesday, September 2, at the age of 77.

Duch, born Kaing Guek Eav, was serving a life sentence after a United Nations-backed court formally charged him with mass murder, torture and crimes against humanity. At his trial, Duch admitted to his role in killing thousands of innocent Cambodians but argued that he was merely following orders from his superiors, a defense the court rejected. 

In a statement to VICE News, Neth Pheaktra, spokesperson of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, confirmed Duch’s death and said he died at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh at 12:52 a.m. on Wednesday.

The tribunal did not provide details on the cause of his death. In October 2018, he was taken to the intensive care unit after experiencing diarrhea and breathing problems, Reuters reported. 

The Khmer Rouge, led by the dictator Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. Up to two million people are believed to have been murdered or tortured under the cruel regime, with many dying of starvation or overwork. The Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21, was housed in a former high school. 

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, between 14,000 and 17,000 prisoners were detained at S-21, with many being subjected to torture and beatings in order to force confessions. Only 12 people are believed to have survived the ordeal. 

S-21, referred to as the “factory of death,” still stands today as the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide. Those running the prison facility kept meticulous records of their torture methods and took chilling photographs of each prisoner.

In 2010, Duch became the first key figure from the genocidal regime to be convicted of war crimes. Only two other figures from Khmer Rouge besides Duch have ever been sentenced—Khieu Samphan, the regime’s head of state, and Nuon Chea, the second-in-command to Pol Pot. 

During his 2010 trial, Duch told the court that he was “solely and individually responsible for the loss of at least 12,380 lives.