Court should accept K.Rouge man's remorse: defence

The lawyer for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge jail chief urged the UN-backed war crimes court Thursday to recognise his client's remorse in the interests of national reconciliation.

French defence lawyer Francois Roux said prosecution demands for a 40-year prison term for former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, failed to take account of his repeated apologies.

"We have before us an accused who recognises his guilt. This is an historic moment for this country... We must build the truth," Roux told the court.

"The prosecution has... missed its date with history," he said.

"They said lock him up for 40 years and society will be the better for it. But when will the prosecution admit that these are words that have been heard before? These are cliches and we must go further."

Duch, 67, has repeatedly apologised, this week offering "excruciating remorse", for his role in the hardline communist regime, which killed up to two million people.

But prosecution lawyers giving final arguments Wednesday said that was not enough and demanded he serve 40 years in jail.

Since his trial began in February, Duch has begged forgiveness for overseeing the murders of around 15,000 men, women and children at the S-21 or Tuol Sleng prison, a former high school in the capital Phnom Penh.

Tuol Sleng was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge security apparatus and inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields".

Duch faces a maximum life sentence as the tribunal does not have the power to impose the death penalty. A verdict is expected early next year.

Duch has argued that he was not a leading figure in the regime and that he acted out of fear for his own safety and that of his family, but prosecutors accuse him of not fully acknowledging his role in Khmer Rouge leadership.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998. The joint trial of four other more senior Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to start in 2011, while the court is considering whether to open cases against five other former Khmer Rouge cadres.