Vann Nath RIP

Yesterday Cambodia's greatest artist Vann Nath died in Phnom Penh after a long illness, aged 66 (title link). He was one of only seven prisoners to survive the Khmer Rouge's infamous Tuol Sleng prison, a torture and extermination centre. He was kept alive to paint portraits of Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge leaders. At least 14,000 people perished in that terrible prison and were dumped in the killing fields. He subsequently painted distressing pictures of the many forms of torture he witnessed while an inmate. He testified at the trial of the former prison chief Duch. Ironically Vann Nath's paintings are now on permanent display in Tuol Sleng prison, which has been turned into a genocide museum.