American Reporter Says He Saw Pol Pot Last Week
An American reporter said Sunday that he saw the elusive Pol Pot last week in northern Cambodia and witnessed the Khmer Rouge guerrilla leader’s “trial” by former followers who mutinied against him last month.
Nate Thayer, a staff correspondent for the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review, saw the deposed leader of the radical Communist group at Anlong Veng, a Khmer Rouge stronghold now controlled by mutinous remnants of his guerrilla army. It was the first time in 18 years that a Western reporter was known to have seen Pol Pot, who led the 1975-1979 regime that left at least 1 million people dead.
In a telephone interview, Thayer said he had returned with photos and videotape. He said the Far Eastern Economic Review has exclusive rights to his story and that he could not divulge further details until the weekly magazine’s cover story is published later this week.
Khmer Rouge announced Saturday that they had tried Pol Pot and his “genocidal clique” and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
