Khmer Rouge officer guilty of war crimes

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, July 26 (UPI) -- The man who ran a prison where more than 14,000 people died during the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia was found guilty of war crimes.

Kaing Guek Eav, 67, also known as Duch, was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but won't serve any more than 19 years, CNN reported Monday. The judge took away five years for the time Duch was detained before a U.N.-supported tribunal was set up and erased another 11 years for time served.

Prosecutors sought a 45-year sentence with five years' credit for time served.

The verdict, which also included convictions of crimes against humanity, murder and torture, sparked strong reaction outside of the courtroom, with some people saying it made them lose faith in the tribunal, CNN said.

"It's becoming a sham," said Cambodian-American Theary Seng, chairwoman of the Center for Justice and Reconciliation.

Seng, who told CNN the Khmer Rouge killed her parents, called the sentence "an insult to the survivors. ... It makes light of the crime and suffering."

Duch commanded S-21 prison where thousands of detainees were killed in an area now known as the "killing fields." An estimated 2 million Cambodians died under Pol Pot's brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

Amnesty International urged the tribunal to redouble its efforts to prosecute Khmer Rouge-era criminals following Duch's conviction.

"Achieving a conviction in (Duch's case), the first case to be heard by Cambodia's Extraordinary Chambers, is a historic moment but still only the first step towards justice for the almost 2 million who died as a result of the massive crimes committed under Khmer Rouge rule," Donna Guest, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Asia-Pacific, said in a release.

Amnesty International said it was concerned that only a few suspects were identified for possible prosecution.

A decision whether to indict five people charged in the second case will be made later this year, Amnesty International said. Duch is also named in a second case, along with former Khmer Rouge politicians, including head of state Khieu Samphan, Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, Minister of Social Affairs Ieng Thirith and senior Communist Party officer Nuon Chea. Two other cases were filed in September.