Asia-Pacific News
Prosecution: Cambodia was turned "into a massive slave camp"
Nov 21, 2011, 3:47 GMT
Phnom Penh - The UN-backed war crimes court heard Monday that the Khmer Rouge had converted Cambodia into 'a massive slave camp, turning the entire nation into a prison' during its 1975-79 rule.
Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang said the crimes with which the court has charged the three defendants 'are among the worst horrors inflicted on any nation in modern history.'
Chea Leang was addressing the court on the first day of the trial against the surviving leaders of the communist Rouge movement.
'Cambodia became an open-air prison in which the prisoners were continually watched,' she said. 'Men, women and children performed labour in absolute silence. The working conditions were appalling.'
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