[The following is in regards to the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Comrade Duch, who was the head of the Khmer Rouge’s internal security branch, in which he oversaw the Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison camp where thousands were held for interrogation and torture. While the trial itself takes place in the early 2000s, I still felt it appropriate, as the trial only covered events taking place between the years 1975-1979. Every testimony is from that time period, and everything depicted by the author, who was present at the trial, are essentially reactions to this gruesome period of history by contemporaries who were present or had participated. In that sense, I feel this fits well for our purposes, and I do not believe it breaks the 20 Year Rule.]
He [Duch] is an expert on torture. The method of covering someone’s head with a plastic bag is “very dangerous,” he asserts. Throwing water over it makes it even more sophisticated. The prison’s first director, Nath, had a predilection for electrocution and whipping. Duch says he himself authorized four types of abuse: forcing water up people’s noses, beating people up, whipping, and electric shocks. He doesn’t believe that prisoners had their breasts burned, or that his interrogators used venomous insects such as centipedes to extract confessions.
[…]
In reality, all kinds of tortures were practiced at S-21. Chum Mey describes having his nails pulled out, though Duch claims he put an end to that method. One written order directs an interrogator to force one of Duch’s former teachers to eat spoonfuls of excrement. Brother Number Five, Duch’s former boss, was forced to take a cold shower and then sit in front of a fan – “to induce fever,” says Duch. Some were made to drink urine. Others were forced to pay homage to an image of a dog with the enemy’s face superimposed over it, or made to kneel in front of a chair, or a table, or any other object that only a contemptible person would honor.
Source:
Cruvellier, T., and Alex Gilly. “Chapter 7.” The Master of Confessions: The Making of a Khmer Rouge Torturer. Ecco, 2014. 50-1. Print.
Further Reading:
សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum) / Security Prison 21 (S-21)
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