Former prison guard 'Duch' to appeal war crimes conviction

Kaing Guek Eav, the former head of a Khmer Rouge torture centre and better known as "Duch", will appeal his Monday conviction by a UN-backed war crimes court that sentenced him to 30 years in prison, his lawyer says.

By Catherine Nicholson (video)
News Wires (text)

AFP - Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch will appeal against his conviction by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal, which sentenced him to 30 years in jail, his defence lawyer told AFP Tuesday.

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"We will appeal against the (court's) decision," Duch's lawyer Kar Savuth told AFP by telephone, without elaborating.

Duch was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the court on Monday. He is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face an international tribunal over crimes committed under the 1975-1979 hardline communist regime.

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During his trial, he repeatedly apologised for overseeing the mass murder of 15,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng prison -- also known as S-21 -- but shocked the court in November by finally asking to be acquitted.