Khmer Rouge Leader Ta Mok Dies Ahead of Trial
2006.07.21
March 12, 1999: Notorious Khmer Rouge military chief Ta Mok, undergoing interrogation in his Phnom Penh jail cell, following his arrest by the Cambodian armed forces Photo: AFP/Cambodian military intelligence department
PHNOM PENH—Ta Mok, the 82-year-old former Khmer Rouge commander whose actions earned him the nickname “The Butcher,” has died at a military hospital in the Cambodian capital.
Ta Mok, who died Friday, was being treated for high blood pressure, tuberculosis, and respiratory complications, his lawyer, Benson Samay, said.
Earlier this month, officials were sworn in for a long-awaited trial of those blamed for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people under the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79. Ta Mok could have provided key testimony against other defendants.
One of two defendants
But only Ta Mok and former prison commander Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, were in custody ahead of the trial, and many people fear that the defendants—all of whom are elderly—may die before they can be tried.
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http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2006/07/21/cambodia_tamok/