PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A U.N.-backed tribunal has found the former Khmer Rouge chief jailer guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and ordered him to serve 19 years in prison.
Kaing Guek Eav listened impassively as the chief judge read out the verdict today.
It was the first verdict to be handed down against a senior member of the genocidal regime blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people during their 1975-79 reign of terror.
During the course of his 77-day trial, he admitted to heading Toul Sleng, a top secret detention center. More than 16,000 people passed through its gates before they were killed.
The court sentenced Duch to 35 years in prison, but shaved off the 11 years he’s already spent in detention and five more for cooperating with the court.
Mexico: Guards allegedly let inmates come and go, lent guns
Guards and officials at a prison in northern Mexico allegedly let inmates out, lent them guns and sent them off in official vehicles to carry out drug-related killings, including the massacre of 17 people last week, prosecutors said Sunday. After carrying out the killings the inmates would return to their cells, the Attorney General’s Office said.The director of the prison in Gomez Palacio in Durango state and three other officials were placed under a form of house arrest pending further investigation.
Iowa: Dozens of homes, businesses damaged in flood
Flooding from the Maquoketa River after the Lake Delhi dam failed Saturday has damaged dozens of homes and businesses, causing millions of dollars in damage in Monticello, officials said Sunday. The river crested upstream of the dam at Manchester early Saturday afternoon at 24.53 feet — more than 10 feet above flood stage and well above its 2004 record of 21.66 feet — before it began to slowly recede. About 50 homes and 20 businesses had major flood damage and the city’s sewer plant had been flooded and shut down about 7 p.m. Saturday.
Ohio: Iams cat food recall
Procter &Gamble Co. said Sunday it is voluntarily recalling two lots of Iams renal dry cat food because it could be contaminated with salmonella. The products are available by prescription through veterinary clinics. An FDA analysis identified positive results on two lots of Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs: numbers 01384174B4 0 19014 21405 1 and 01384174B2 0 19014 21405 1. Codes are found in the lower right corner on the back of the bag. Customers seeking more information or a refund may call P&G at 877-894-4458.
Arizona: Car wreck victims’ identities mixed up
Family and friends spent the past week standing vigil outside a Phoenix hospital room, praying Marlena Cantu would recover from severe injuries suffered in an Arizona traffic crash. But the badly bruised, swollen-faced woman in the hospital bed wasn’t Cantu. The 21-year-old had actually died in the crash, and her friend — 19-year-old Abby Guerra — was the one in critical condition with a brain injury, broken back and other injuries. Guerra’s family had spent the past week planning her funeral, and family and friends rushed to her bedside Saturday after learning of the mix-up. Officials incorrectly said Guerra had died at the scene, The Arizona Republic reported Sunday.
California: Boy hanged self after visit from county workers
Authorities investigating an 11-year-old’s suicide threat say they didn’t learn key information about an abusive stepfather who answered the door at his house until after the boy hanged himself. On June 11, the workers visited the boy’s home in Montebello after he told a school counselor he wanted to kill himself. Los Angeles County records show he was found dead hours after the visit. They did not learn until after the suicide that the stepfather who answered the door had a history of drug abuse and domestic violence and a court had barred him from living in the home. One of Department of Children and Family Services’s 2,400 tablet computers could have provided the information, but most sit unused because of a shortage of wireless cards.
Utah: Fireworks injure 10
Authorities are trying to determine what caused a malfunction that sent fireworks shooting into a crowd of spectators during a Pioneer Day celebration Saturday in Salt Lake City. The fire department said the injuries were mostly minor burns and bruises.
Illinois: Blagojevich trial closing arguments today
After seven weeks listening to the testimony of more than two dozen witnesses, jurors in the corruption trial against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are set to hear closing arguments beginning this morning. The jury has heard scores of undercover recordings of an often-profane governor discussing fundraising plans that the government contends were illegal and allegedly plotting to swap the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama for a Cabinet post or high-paying job. His campaign office was bugged and his phones tapped in the fall of 2008.
From Herald news services
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