Trial of Khmer Rouge Leader Prison Boss Opens in Cambodia

(17 Feb 09-RV) A notorious torture centre boss went before Cambodia's genocide tribunal today for its first trial over the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime more than three decades ago. Kaing Guek Eav – better known as Duch, who headed the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh – has been charged with crimes against humanity and is the first of five defendants scheduled for long-delayed trials by the U.N.-assisted tribunal. The Director of Jesuit Refugee Services in Cambodia, Sr Denise Coghlan, says she hopes the trial will bring reconciliation to those affected by the atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge.