Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

former Security Prison 21, or S-21, under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (Khmer: សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) is a museum about the Cambodian genocide. It is located in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

The Museum is in a former secondary school. The Khmer Rouge regime used the school as Security Prison 21 (S-21) between 1975 (when they rose to power) and 1979 (when they lost power).

History

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Historians do not know exactly how many people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng. Estimates say it was around 20,000 people. "Tuol Sleng" (Khmer: ទួលស្លែង Khmer pronunciation: [tuəl slaeŋ]) means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill".

Tuol Sleng was just one of at least 150 torture and execution centers created by the Khmer Rouge.[1]

Crimes against humanity

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On July 26, 2010, the chief of Tuol Sleng Prison, Kang Kek Iew (alias "Duch"), was tried in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. He was accused of committing crimes against humanity and breaking the 1949 Geneva Conventions. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[2]

References

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  1. Locard, Henri, State Violence in Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) and Retribution (1979-2004) Archived 2021-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, European Review of History, Vol. 12, No. 1, March 2005, pp.121–143.
  2. "Case 001 | Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)". Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2017.