Former Khmer Rouge prison chief gets 19-year jail term

Phnom Penh: A former Khmer Rouge prison chief was given a 35-year prison sentence, on Monday, by a UN-backed war crimes court, for his role in atrocities committed during the 1975-79 Communist reign of terror in Cambodia.

The court sentenced Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to 35 years in prison, but shaved off the 11 years he's already spent in detention and five more for cooperating with the court.

He is the first Khmer Rouge General to face trial in an international court, over the deaths of up to two million people during the communist regime.

He once presided over Tuol Sleng, a notorious top-secret detention centre, where more than 16,000 people were killed, many after being tortured.

The court sentenced him to 35 years in prison, but shaved off the 11 years he has already spent in detention and five more for cooperating with the court.