Sentence reduced for former Khmer Rouge prison chief

[cory777]

Source: LA Times

A former Khmer Rouge prison chief convicted of crimes against humanity will serve little more than half of his 35-year sentence, a penalty that many victims said Monday was unthinkably lenient.

Kang Kek Ieu — known in tribunal filings as Kaing Guek Eav but best known by his revolutionary name, Comrade Duch — had his sentence reduced to 19 years by the U.N.-backed tribunal that convicted him, in part because he has already been behind bars for 11 years.

Duch, 67, who presided over the grisly torture and execution of more than 14,000 Cambodians, could have received a life sentence. The math teacher-turned-revolutionary betrayed little emotion as a judge read a statement saying that the coercive climate in which he followed orders, matched by his expression of remorse, albeit limited, and cooperation with the tribunal, warranted a lesser sentence than life in prison.

The verdict was broadcast by every network in this country, ensuring that millions of Cambodians watched the results of a trial that had begun in relative obscurity a few years ago.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cambodia-khmer-rouge-20100727,0,4747344.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fasia+%28L.A.+Times+-+Asia%29

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[uppityperson]

1. bah

[alp227]

2. He's 67 and will die in prison anyway, right?

But why didn't he get a life sentence like he deserved for his extreme crime against humanity?