Bou Meng, Artist Who Survived Cambodia's S-21 Prison Through His Paintings, Dies at 85

Bou Meng, an artist who survived imprisonment and torture at the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 detention center because of his skill as a painter, has died at 85. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the tribunal that prosecuted Khmer Rouge leaders, said he died on the night of August 14 of an age-related illness.

Meng and his wife were imprisoned at S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, in 1977, while their children were sent to a separate camp; he never saw his wife or children again. S-21 held more than 18,000 people during the Khmer Rouge era, and only seven adults are known to have survived it. According to accounts of his capture, Meng survived after a guard asked whether anyone among the prisoners could paint, and he volunteered, going on to spend his imprisonment producing portraits and propaganda images for the regime rather than being sent to his death.

Meng testified as a civil party in the tribunal's Case 001 against Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, the former chairman of S-21, describing the torture he endured there. The ECCC said his testimony made "a significant contribution to the pursuit of truth and justice for victims" and was later cited in the tribunal's second case as well. For decades afterward, Meng spoke with Cambodian and international visitors, including students, at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, sharing his account of the Khmer Rouge period directly with the public.

With Meng's death, Chum Mey is now the only known living adult survivor of S-21.