The first ever trial of a Khmer Rouge leader has begun in the Cambodian capital – 30 years after the fall of the regime.
Pre-trial hearings in the war crimes trial of Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, got under way on Tuesday in Phnom Penh.
Duch is the first of five former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes against humanity to formally face open trial before a specially-constituted UN-backed tribunal.
The landmark trial will be carried live on Cambodian television, although the first witness are not expected to be called for weeks or possibly months.
"The formal opening of the first trial is a hugely important day for Cambodia," Helen Jarvis, a spokeswoman for the tribunal, said.
"It will be a milestone on the road to justice."
At least 1.7 million people died of starvation, disease or execution during the Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia between 1975 and 1979.
Many died in what later became known as the "killing fields"
Duch, 65, is accused of murder, torture, rape and persecution, and faces life imprisonment if convicted. Cambodia does not have a death sentence.
Four other surviving former Khmer Rouge officials are in detention awaiting trial on similar charges.
They include Nuon Chea, the group's former deputy leader also known as "Brother Number Two"; Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state; Ieng Sary, the ex-foreign minister; and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was the social affairs minister.
Pol Pot, the group's former supreme leader and so-called "Brother Number One", died in a jungle hideout in 1998.
Source: Al Jazeera