Kang Kek Iew
Khmer Rouge leader
Died when: 77 years 290 days (933 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
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Kang Kek Iew, also spelled Kaing Guek Eav (Khmer: ???? ?????????, Kang Hkék'iev [ka? ge?k.?i?w]; 17 November 1942 – 2 September 2020), nom de guerre Comrade Duch (Khmer: ????????, Mitt Duch [m?t ?uc]) or Hang Pin, was a Cambodian convicted war criminal and leader in the Khmer Rouge movement, which ruled Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979.
As the head of the government's internal security branch (Santebal), he oversaw the Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison camp where thousands were held for interrogation and torture, after which the vast majority of these prisoners were eventually executed.
He was the first Khmer Rouge leader to be tried by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge regime, and was convicted of crimes against humanity, murder, and torture for his role during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.
On Candlemas Day, 2 February 2012, his sentence was extended to life imprisonment by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Even though he was responsible for the death of thousands of people, Kang Kek Iew, unlike other Khmer Rouge cadres, did not dismiss or justify his crimes.
He admitted that he had been wrong and that he had done horrible things; he said that he repented and that he had converted to Christianity.
During his trial, he provided detailed accounts of what happened inside S-21 and inside the Khmer Rouge regime, and this helped shed light on the regime and other cadres' responsibility.
Even though Kang's case was on appeal, his convictions stand as is the case with Nuon Chea.
