Kang Kek Iew, also spelled Kaing Guek Eav ( km, កាំង ហ្គេកអ៊ាវ, ; 17 November 1942 – 2 September 2020), ''

nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'' Comrade Duch ( km, មិត្តឌុច, ) or Hang Pin, was a Cambodian convicted war criminal and leader in the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

movement, which ruled

Democratic Kampuchea Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...

from 1975 to 1979. As the head of the government's internal security branch (

Santebal The ''Santebal'' ( km, សន្តិបាល, ; meaning "keeper of peace") was the secret police of the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime in Cambodia. The Santebal was in charge of internal security and running prison camps like ...

), he oversaw the

Tuol Sleng The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...

(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 The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC; french: Chambres extraordinaires au sein des tribunaux cambodgiens (CETC); km, អង្គជំនុំជម្រះវិសាមញ្ញក្នុងតុលាការ� ...

for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge regime, and was convicted of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, murder, and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

for his role during the

Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democratic Kampuchea (DK; km, កម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ) from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Camb ...

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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. During his trial, he provided detailed accounts of what happened inside S-21 and inside the

regime, and this helped shed light on the regime and other cadres' responsibility.

Early years

Kang Kek Iew was born in Choyaot village, Kampong Chen subdistrict, Kampong Thom Province, to an ethnic Chinese family who migrated to Cambodia in his father's generation. A star pupil in his school, he passed his ''Brevet d'études secondaires de première'' in 1961 at the age of nineteen. He finished the first half of his Baccalaureate in 1962 at the Lycée Suravarman II in the town of

Siem Reap Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...

. The same year he was offered a place in the prestigious

Lycée Sisowath Lycée Sisowath ( km, វិទ្យាល័យព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ; also Sisowath High School) is a secondary school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school was founded in 1873 as a collège (middle school) and became a ly ...

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

where he completed his Baccalaureate in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, scoring second in the entire country. From his childhood on, Kang's name was changed many times. One such occasion of name changing took place when he was 15, when his parents changed his name to Yim Cheav. As the name is important in

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

, Kang therefore gave his name to his grandson, significantly adding the Chinese name "Yun" to this name. He was described by his former classmates as a bright and quiet boy who rarely smiled during his youth.

Induction into the Khmer Rouge

In 1964, Kek Iew began studying for his teaching certificate in Mathematics, a subject he loved, at the ''Institut de Pédagogie''. The institute was a cradle of activism under the directorship of

Son Sen Son Sen ( km, សុន សេន ; 12 June 1930 – 15 June 1997), alias Comrade Khieu () or "Brother Number 89", was a Cambodian Communist politician and soldier. A member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea/ Party ...

who was later to emerge as the Defence Minister of the Khmer Rouge and Duch's immediate superior. On 28 August 1966, Kek Iew received his teaching certificate and was posted to a

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

in Skoun, a small town in Kampong Cham Province. He was a good teacher, remembered as earnest and committed by his pupils. He joined the

Communist Party of Kampuchea The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; french: Parti communiste du Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Communist Party,Prey Sar prison The Prey Sar Prison, previously known as S24, is the largest of 24 Cambodian prisons. It is administrated by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior with liaisons from the Ministry of Health. Kang Kek Iew Kang Kek Iew, also spelled Kaing Guek Ea ...

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...

's police for engaging in communist activities. He was held without trial for the next two years. In 1970, when he was released following the amnesty granted to political prisoners by

Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ ...

, he joined the Khmer Rouge rebels in the

Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains ( km, ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ, ; th, ทิวเขาบรรทัด, ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range ...

bordering

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

In the maquis

Communist groups in France's former colonies in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

borrowed the French World War II expression '

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

' when referring to their resistance movements in the jungles. In the zone under the control of the Khmer Rouge, Kek Iew took on his ''

'' Comrade Duch (IPA: ujc and became a prison commandant. He was appointed the head of Special Security by his immediate superior

Vorn Vet Vorn Vet ( km, វ៉ន វេត; 1929–1978) born Sok Thuok (), was a Cambodian politician who served as deputy prime minister for the economy of Democratic Kampuchea Kampuchea ( km, កម្ពុជា ), officially known as Democra ...

. In the forests of Amleang,

Thpong District Thpong District ( km, ស្រុកថ្ពង) is a district (''srok'') located in Kampong Speu Province in central Cambodia. Geography The district is located in central Cambodia. Neighbouring districts are (from the east clockwise) Odongk ...

, Duch set up his first prison, code-named '

M-13 M13, M-13 or M13 may refer to: Military * Fiat M13/40, an Italian tank used in World War II * M13 Half-track, a U.S. anti-aircraft gun used in World War II * M13 link, a machine gun's ammunition link * M-13 rocket, a version of the Soviet World War ...

'. Two years later, he also established a second prison ' M-99' in the nearby

Aoral District Aoral ( km, ឱរ៉ាល់ ) is a district located in Kampong Speu Province in central Cambodia. It includes Phnom Aural, the highest peak in Cambodia. Administration Aoral District is subdivided into 5 communes (''khum Administrative ...

. Assisted by his two deputies,

Mam Nai Mam Nai or Mam Nay ( km, ម៉មណៃ, born 1934), ''nom de guerre'' Comrade Chan (), is a Cambodian war criminal and former lieutenant of Santebal, the internal security branch of the Khmer Rouge communist movement, which ruled Democratic K ...

(Comrade Chan) and

Tang Sin Hean Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

(Comrade Pon), Duch began perfecting his interrogation techniques and the purging of perceived enemies from the Khmer Rouge ranks. Prisoners at these camps, mostly from the ranks of the Khmer Rouge, were routinely starved and tortured to extract real and made-up confessions. While in the maquis, Duch married Chhim Sophal, aka Rom, a dressmaker from a nearby village. They had four children while he worked at S-21.

Leading the Santebal and Tuol Sleng

After the Khmer Rouge victory in April 1975, Duch and his men set up prisons throughout the capital, including the infamous

Tuol Sleng prison The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...

. Duch's request for a transfer in May 1975 to the Industrial Sector of government was denied. The Tuol Sleng prison camp was initially headed by

In Lon IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

(aka Comrade Nath) with Duch acting as deputy. Subsequently, In Lon was transferred and Duch was promoted to Director. By May 1976, all the prisons in Phnom Penh were consolidated and relocated to Tuol Sleng. Prisons like Tuol Sleng were created to cleanse the population of suspected enemies of the revolution. In Tuol Sleng, Duch ordered the execution of prisoners after their interrogation was completed. For example, on a list containing the names of 17 prisoners (eight teenagers and nine children), he wrote the order "Smash them to pieces." On a longer list of detainees, his annotation reads "smash: 115; keep: 44 persons." The text below this annotation reads "Comrade Duch proposed to Angkar; Angkar agreed." On a list of 20 female detainees, Duch wrote annotations for each of them, ordering: "take away for execution," "keep for interrogation" or "medical experiment". At least 100 detainees died after having all of their blood drawn for transfusions for wounded soldiers. Surgical operations were also performed on detainees in order to train medical staff. Duch impressed his superiors with his work and was appointed the head of

's dreaded "special branch"; the

. As the party purges increased toward the end of the Democratic Kampuchea period, more people were brought to Duch, including former colleagues, among them his predecessor at Tuol Sleng, In Lon. Throughout this period, Duch built up a large archive of prison records, mug shots, and extracted "confessions". On 6 January 1979, he was ordered by his superior to kill the remaining prisoners. The next day, Duch was among the last Khmer Rouge cadres to flee Phnom Penh after it fell to the Vietnamese army. Though he was unable to destroy much of the prison's extensive documents, he saw to the execution of several surviving prisoners before he fled the city.

After the fall

Duch reached the border of Thailand in May 1979. Details of his whereabouts at this time remain unclear. It is believed that he went to the forests of Samlaut where he was reunited with his family. Here Duch was demoted by

Brother Number Two Nuon Chea ( km, នួន ជា; born Lao Kim Lorn; 7 July 1926 – 4 August 2019), also known as Long Bunruot ( km, ឡុង ប៊ុនរត្ន) or Rungloet Laodi ( th, รุ่งเลิศ เหล่าดี), was a Cambodian co ...

Nuon Chea Nuon Chea ( km, នួន ជា; born Lao Kim Lorn; 7 July 1926 – 4 August 2019), also known as Long Bunruot ( km, ឡុង ប៊ុនរត្ន) or Rungloet Laodi ( th, รุ่งเลิศ เหล่าดี), was a Cambodian co ...

, for having failed to destroy the documents at Tuol Sleng. At the border, he learned to speak Thai and taught himself English. He later taught English and mathematics at a refugee camp in Borai just inside Thailand. In June 1986, Duch was sent to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to teach as a

Khmer language Khmer (; , ) is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khmer people, and the Official language, official and national language of Cambodia. Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pāli, Pali, especiall ...

expert at the

Beijing Foreign Language Institute Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...

. He returned to the Thai-Cambodian border a year later and changed his name to Hang Pin. He worked as a senior bureaucrat just inside the Cambodian border at

Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...

's secretariat at Camp 505. Shortly after the Paris agreement in October 1991, he moved with his family to the small isolated village of Phkoam close to the Thai border. Here he purchased some land, and began teaching in the local school. He was known as a good teacher, but one with a fiery temper. In 1995, Duch's wife was killed under mysterious circumstances in an attack on his home. Duch was the only witness and suspected Pol Pot of instigating it. He sold all his possessions, secured a transfer to Svay Chek College, and moved there with his children. Shortly after his wife's murder, Duch began attending the prayer meetings of the Golden West Cambodian Christian Church held in

Battambang Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the coun ...

by Christopher LaPel, an evangelical Khmer-American. Duch was baptized by LaPel and eventually became a lay pastor. LaPel was later to observe that although he did not know Duch's real identity at the time, there were clues. For example, before his conversion, Duch had said to LaPel that he had done a lot of bad things in his life. Later, Duch was to say, "I don’t know if my brothers and sisters can forgive the sins I've committed against the people".

Discovery

Soon after his identity was discovered, Duch accepted a transfer to Samlaut as Director of Education. When fighting broke out in 1996 following the split of the Khmer Rouge and the coup to oust Prince Rannariddh in 1997, he fled with his family to the Ban Ma Muang camp just inside Thailand. At the camp, he worked for the

American Refugee Committee Alight, formerly the American Refugee Committee (ARC), is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the last 40 years. In 2011, Alight helped ...

as the Community Health Supervisor. In late 1998, he returned to Cambodia when fighting subsided. He settled in the village of Andao Hep in Rattanak Mondul and worked closely with

World Vision International World Vision International is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It prefers to present itself as interdenominational and also employs staff from non-evangelical Christian denominations. It was fo ...

, the Christian relief agency. The photojournalist Nic Dunlop tracked Duch down in Samlaut. In 1999,

Nate Thayer Nate Thayer (born April 21, 1960) is an American freelance journalist, whose journalism has focused on international organized crime, narcotics trafficking, human rights, and areas of military conflict. He is notable for having interviewed Pol ...

, who had previously interviewed

and

Ta Mok Ta Mok ( km, តាម៉ុក; born Chhit Choeun (); 1924 – 21 July 2006) also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kam ...

, and Dunlop interviewed Duch for the ''

Far Eastern Economic Review The ''Far Eastern Economic Review'' (''FEER'') was an Asian business magazine published between 1946 and December 2009 in the English language. Based in Hong Kong, the news magazine published weekly until December 2004, when it converted to a m ...

''. Duch surrendered to the authorities in Phnom Penh following the publication of this interview.

Trial

On 31 July 2007, Duch was formally charged with war crimes and

and detained by Cambodia's

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

-backed

. Duch, represented by Cambodian lawyer Kar Savuth and French lawyer François Roux, appealed against his provisional detention by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia based on the more than eight years he spent without trial in Cambodian military detention. The appeal was unsuccessful and on 14 August 2008, the tribunal issued its indictment after completing their investigation of Duch. In February 2008, as part of the judicial process, Duch was taken to Tuol Sleng prison, the scene of his crimes. He reportedly collapsed in tears after stating, "I ask for your forgiveness – I know that you cannot forgive me, but I ask you to leave me the hope that you might." On 16 February 2009, the UN supervised trial of Duch began at a

court. Duch was prosecuted by international co-prosecutors William Smith and

Anees Ahmed Indian lawyer. He served as the Chief of Judicial and Legal Affairs, and formerly the Head of Chambers, of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Prior to his current appointment, Ahmed was: 1) a rapporteur for the United N ...

and was charged with "personally overseeing the systematic torture of more than 15,000 prisoners." The presiding judge of the case was

Nil Nonn Nil may refer to: * nil (the number zero) Acronyms * NIL (programming language), an implementation of the Lisp programming language * Name, Image and Likeness, a set of rules in the American National Collegiate Athletic Association allowing colle ...

. Duch was tried by a panel of five judges — three Cambodian, one French, and one New Zealander — according to a 2003 pact between Cambodia and the United Nations establishing the tribunal. On 31 March 2009, Duch, in a statement in front of the Cambodia tribunal, accepted responsibility for torturing and executing thousands of inmates, expressed "heartfelt sorrow" for his crimes and vowed to cooperate fully with the tribunal. Duch surprised the tribunal on 27 November 2009 with a plea to be released. In his final statement before the tribunal he acknowledged his involvement in Khmer Rouge-era crimes, including the execution of more than 12,000 Tuol Sleng prisoners, but said they were committed by a "criminal party". Duch also noted that he had served more than 10 years in detention, and stressed that he had been fully cooperative with the tribunal. There were also conflicting closing arguments from Duch's defense team. His Cambodian lawyer, Kar Savuth demanded his client's acquittal and release, while his international counterpart, François Roux pressed judges to hand down a lenient sentence. At the conclusion of the trial, prosecutors asked that Duch be given 40 years in prison if convicted. On 26 July 2010, Duch was found guilty of crimes against humanity, torture, and murder; he was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, with a pre-trial detention credit of 11 years being applied to his sentence and an additional controversial five-year deduction because his period of pre-trial detention exceeded the maximum allowed under Cambodian law. On 3 February 2012, an upper court U.N. war crimes tribunal rejected his appeal and extended his sentence to life imprisonment because of his "shocking and heinous" crimes. The ruling was final with no other chance for appeal. On 20 October 2018, he was hospitalized in serious condition.

Death

After serving ten years in prison, on 2 September 2020, Duch died at the age of 77 at the Khmer–Soviet Friendship Hospital of

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

. Due to the complicated situation of COVID-19 in Cambodia, he was quickly cremated on the same day in

, without a

Buddhist funeral Among ''Buddhists'', death is regarded as one of the occasions of major religious significance, both for the deceased and for the survivors. For the deceased, it marks the moment when the transition begins to a new mode of existence within the rou ...

References

External links

Case information at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
*
Original judgement
*
Appeal judgement

by

François Bizot François Bizot (born 8 February 1940) is a French anthropologist, the only Westerner to have survived imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge. Arrival in Cambodia Bizot arrived in Cambodia in 1965 to study Buddhism practised in the countryside. He t ...

– a (French) former prisoner of Duch's
1999 BBC article on Duch's capture

* ttp://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail984.html IT Conversations: Nic DunlopPodcast interview of Nic Dunlop, Photojournalist, discussing how he found Kang Kek Iew
Experience: I tracked down a man who killed 14,000 people
Nic Dunlop talks about tracking down Duch

Time magazine article about Duch's conversion to Christianity
S-21 Prison photographs
Original photographs from Tuol Sleng/S-21 prison {{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Kek Iew 1942 births 2020 deaths Torturers People from Kampong Thom province Cambodian evangelicals Cambodian people of Chinese descent Converts to Christianity from Buddhism Genocide perpetrators Khmer Rouge party members People convicted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Cambodian people convicted of crimes against humanity Cambodian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Cambodia Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Cambodia Cambodian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Cambodian politicians convicted of crimes Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Prisoners who died in Cambodian detention