The former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, has requested Cambodia's United Nations-backed war crimes court to acquit and release him. Duch is being tried for crimes committed during the brutal 1975-1979 communist regime.

The 67-year-old earlier admitted responsibility for overseeing the murders of 15,000 men, women and children at the notorious S-21 or Tuol Sleng torture centre while he was in charge there. Begging forgiveness, Duch said he complied with the orders from his superiors for fear of reprisals against his family.

Tuol Sleng prison was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus. Inmates were taken from there for execution at a nearby orchard, now known as the "Killing Fields". Under their leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge killed nearly two million people through starvation, overwork and execution in their attempt to turn Cambodia back to a rural "Year Zero".

Today is the final hearing of Duch's trial which has lasted nine months. International prosecutors earlier this week asked judges to impose a jail sentence of 40 years on Duch. Following a query by judges, Duch's lawyer confirmed that he was asking for acquittal on the grounds that he was not a senior member of the Khmer Rouge hierarchy. It is expected that the sentence will be pronounced early next year.
 

For more click here