Khmer jailer tells of torture experiments

The former head of the Khmer Rouge’s most notorious prison told today how he experimented with different torture methods in his early years to see how people reacted.

Facing repeated questions from a genocide tribunal judge, Kaing Guek Eav told the court in Phnom Pehn that during his early years he put prisoners in communal pits until the monsoon flooded them, tied them to posts, forced them to stand out in the cold air while soaking wet, or beat them with tree branches.

The accused – better known as Duch – spoke as the UN-assisted tribunal began the second week of his trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as homicide and torture.

Four more are in custody and to be tried sometime over the next year.