Cambodia ? A U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal was expected to issue a decision Monday in the trial of the Khmer Rouge’s chief jailer and torturer — the first verdict involving a leader of the genocidal regime that created Cambodia’s killing fields.

Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, ran Toul Sleng — the secret detention center reserved for “enemies” of the state. He admitted overseeing the deaths of up to 16,000 men, women and children who passed through its gates and asked for forgiveness during his 77-day trial.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal represents the first serious attempt to hold Khmer Rouge leaders accountable for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution.