UN-Cambodian War Crimes Court Convicts Khmer Rouge Jailer

On Monday, July 26^th, a joint UN-Cambodian war crimes court convicted the first of several key players of the Khmer Rouge of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

More than three decades after Pol Pot and the leaders of the Khmer Rouge tried to turn Cambodia into a classless society based on agricultural communism, Kaing Guek Eav, commander of the movement's main torture and execution center, was sentenced to a mere 35 years in prison, for which he will only serve 19.

As commander of Tuol Sleng prison, Eav, who is better known as Duch, blatantly admitted to overseeing the torture and deaths of 16,000 people under his command. Though he was found guilty for murder, torture, rape and crimes against humanity, Duch was only sentenced to 35 years due to his expressions of remorse, cooperation with the court, his so-called "potential for rehabilitation," and for the coercive environment under the Khmer Rouge. Eleven years were also shaved off for his time served in prison, and another five for his illegal detention in a military prison.

Cambodians and many in the international community, alike, are outraged by the sentencing, and by the lack of rule of law. Duck, essentially, will only be serving eleven and a half hours per life that he took during his reign of his secret prison.

His sentencing is also, for a large part, accredited to not only the excessive Cambodian bureaucracy, but also to the country's single party, hardly democratic, government that never truly backed the tribunal for its historical ties with Khmer Rouge.

Early next year, the same court is scheduled to try top leader, Nuon Chea, former head of state, Khieu Samphan, and two others. Yet, unlike Duch, they have denied any guilt. Whether the UN or the tribunal itself will be able to bring them to trial remains to be seen as political interference from the current Cambodian government might set delays.

There needs to be an increase of international pressure to bring them to trial and pursue justice for the acts of genocide committed during the Khmer Rouge.