In a landmark judgment by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the two most senior surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, have been sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide and crimes against humanity carried out between 1977 and 1979.
Youk Chhang of the Documentation Center of Cambodia reminds us to take a broad view of this momentous moment: “Although the human pursuit of justice is often scarred by imperfection, the survivors realize a sense of vindication for their suffering as society acknowledges and pursues justice against the perpetrators of the horrors to which they were subjected.”
