1975–1979
A former high school in Phnom Penh is converted into Security Prison 21 (S-21), run by Kaing Guek Eav, known as 'Duch.' Over four years, an estimated 17,000 prisoners pass through its gates — initially enemy soldiers and Lon Nol officials, then increasingly Khmer Rouge cadres accused of treason, and finally ordinary workers and their entire families. All are subjected to systematic torture to extract confessions and lists of accomplices. Prisoners are photographed on arrival. Bodies are trucked to the Choeung Ek killing fields. Seven people survive.
Commanders