Phnom Penh (Cambodia), July 26
A war crimes tribunal convicted and sentenced the Khmer Rouge’s chief jailer today for overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 people, in the first verdict involving a senior member of the “killing fields” regime that devastated a generation of Cambodians.

Victims and their relatives burst into tears after hearing that a 35-year sentence given to Kaing Guek Eav also known as Duch had been whittled down to just 19 after taking into account time already served and other factors. That effectively means the 67-year-old could one day walk free.

“I can’t accept this,” said Saodi Ouch, 46, shaking so hard she could hardly talk. “My family died ... my older sister, my older brother. I’m the only one left.”

The UN-backed tribunal 10 years and $100 million in the making has sought to find justice for victims of the Khmer Rouge regime that killed an estimated 1.7 million people from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution between 1975-79.

The group’s top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998. Four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are awaiting trial. Some legal experts said the tribunal may have acted more leniently with Duch, because they were saving the worst punishment for members of the regime’s inner clique.

Duch, who headed Tuol Sleng, a secret detention center for the worst “enemies” of the state, was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

During the 77-day proceedings, Duch admitted to overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 people who passed through the prison’s gates.

Torture used to extract confessions included pulling out prisoners’ toenails, administering electric shocks and water boarding.

The court said at least 100 people bled to death in medieval-style medical experiments. Unlike the other defendants, Duch (pronounced DOIK) has several times expressed remorse, even offering at one point to face a public stoning and to allow victims to visit him in jail. But his surprise request on the final day of the trial to be acquitted and freed left many wondering if his contrition was sincere.

“He tricked everybody,” said Chum Mey, 79, one of just a few people sent to Tuol Sleng prison code-named S-21 who survived. The key witness wiped his eyes. “See ... my tears drop down again. I feel like I was victim during the Khmer Rouge, and now I’m a victim once again.” — AP

Tearful Khmer Rouge survivors expressed anger today at what they considered a light sentence for the first member of the Cambodian regime to face international justice.

“I’m not happy. My tears are falling again. We suffered once under the regime, and now we are suffering again,” said Chum Mey, 79, one of the handful of inmates who survived the notorious Tuol Sleng jail.

Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court sentenced Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to 30 years in prison for his role in overseeing the murders of around 15,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng jail in the late 1970s.

Yet to the dismay of victims of the “Killing Fields” atrocities who were at the court, Duch was also credited with time served, so the 67-year-old could conceivably walk free in just under 19 years.

“I cannot accept the sentence because he will not serve enough extra time in jail. I want him to be in prison for life,” said Chum Mey, who suffered 12 days of beatings at Tuol Sleng until he falsely confessed to spying on the regime.

“This has not satisfied my goal... I am not happy at all. It’s not justice,” he said.

Duch is the first Khmer Rouge cadre to stand trial in an international tribunal over the deaths of up to two million people through starvation, overwork and execution at the hands of the regime.

The maths teacher-turned-revolutionary was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes, but regime victims who gathered at the court to hear the verdict said the sentence was too light for the born-again Christian.

“The court’s ruling is like a slap in the face or a kick to my head,” said another prison survivor Bou Meng, adding that he wanted prosecutors to appeal so Duch would spend the rest of his life behind bars. — AFP 

Kabul, July 26
A rocket attack on an Afghan village killed at least 45 civilians, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said today, as leaked documents laid bare the civilian toll of the US-led war.

Women and children were among the dead. An investigation is underway to determine who was responsible for the reported attack in Sangin district of southern province Helmand on Friday.

"Our understanding is yes, there was a rocket launched. Yes, it hit a civilian house where many people sought refuge and yes there were around 45 to 50 people killed," Waheed Omar said.

Asked if the attack was carried out by NATO forces, Omar said: "We will need to wait until we have a final report before we have the source as to what happened and who did it." Karzai ordered the National Security Council to investigate the incident, Sediq Sediqqi, head of media relations at the presidency, said earlier.

Reports surfaced on Saturday that a helicopter gunship fired on villagers who had been told by insurgents to leave their homes as a firefight with troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force was imminent. — AFP

Peshawar, July 26
Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to a botched car bomb attack in New York, visited Pakistan seven times and met local Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, the interior minister said today.

“He (Shahzad) visited Pakistan seven times in the last few years and he met Hakimullah Mehsud and also met other people, (including) leaders of the Taliban,” Rahman Malik told reporters in Pabbi town in the country’s northwest.

The acknowledgement came just days after the emergence of a video that showed 30-year-old Shahzad, son of a retired air vice-marshal, shaking hands with and hugging Mehsud, the chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Mehsud had claimed responsibility for the failed car bombing in New York on behalf of the Taliban and warned that his group would carry out more such attacks.

Shahzad pleaded guilty to the bomb plot in a New York court last month and warned of more attacks on the US.

Pakistani security and intelligence agencies have detained several persons, including former army officers, for alleged links with the Pakistan-born Shahzad.

Interior Minister Malik sought to distance Pakistan from Shahzad, saying he is an American national and the US administration should try him in accordance with its laws.

“We accept he is of Pakistani origin but all his actions in America should also be investigated,” Malik said.

Malik said Shahzad’s case should be seen in its “greater perspective” as it is a matter of mindset. — PTI