Documentary s 21 trial#
That story claimed both were overseas intellectuals who were "invited" back from exile in 1975 by Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister at the time, who was later put on trial for crimes against humanity - however, he died before the proceedings could be completed.Ī page from Sek Sat's written confession in May 1978. Previous reports, like one published in the Wall Street Journal in 1997, incorrectly identified Kim Srun's husband as the Khmer Rouge's deputy foreign minister, Puk Suvann. "She was the purest, most honest survivor that I have ever met," Mr Chhang said.īut the meeting made Mr Chhang realise he had become so absorbed by connecting Ms Say with her mother's story, that they had never questioned what happened to her father. It would be another decade before she learned the truth about her father.ĭuring a visit from members of the Holocaust Museum last year, Ms Say met with three former S-21 prison guards. Ms Say only learned of her mother's fate in 2010, more than 30 years after the Khmer Rouge regime fell. Last month, Sek Say was presented with the portrait of her father, Sek Sat, pictured in 1978. Her mother's is one of the most compelling, as she cradles her five-month-old son in her arms. They capture the final moments of prisoners, who were often forced to pen "confessions" before they were killed, as the movement became increasingly paranoid and conducted frequent purges.Īmong the walls of photos are the faces of Ms Say's parents. Now named the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former prison houses thousands of haunting black-and-white portraits. Up to 12,000 people were tortured there and sent to their deaths at the killing fields. When the military entered the capital, they discovered a devastating scene - in the heart of the city, the Khmer Rouge had transformed a school into a notorious prison, called S-21. Beyond Blue (depression and anxiety): 1300 22 4636.Suicide call back service (24-hour support for those feeling suicidal): 1300 659 467.Lifeline (24-hour crisis counselling): 13 11 14.Blue Knot Foundation Helpline (adult survivors of childhood trauma and abuse): 1300 657 380.Open Arms (war veterans and families counselling): 1800 011 046.Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT).In January 1979, a Vietnamese-backed force entered Cambodia, driving the Khmer Rouge into the north-west corner of the country. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh houses thousands of black-and-white photographs of those killed by the Khmer Rouge.
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