ACCESSING CLASSIFIED FILES
Decrypting documents...
Your connection is being monitored
Back to Individuals
critical risk
Pol Pot
Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)
Leader of the Khmer Rouge Responsible for the Cambodian Genocide
Overview
Pol Pot (born Saloth Sar) was the leader of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Under his ideology of agrarian communism, the regime emptied all cities, abolished money, closed schools and hospitals, and executed perceived enemies. An estimated 1.5-2 million Cambodians (approximately 25% of the population) died from execution, starvation, disease, and forced labor during his rule.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
Ordered evacuation of all cities on April 17, 1975 - Phnom Penh's 2 million residents forced into countryside at gunpoint
Abolished money, private property, religion, and education; declared "Year Zero"
S-21 (Tuol Sleng) prison processed over 17,000 prisoners through torture and execution; only 12 survived
Killed intellectuals, professionals, and anyone wearing glasses (seen as sign of literacy/education)
Choeung Ek ("Killing Fields") - mass execution site where 8,895 bodies were exhumed from 129 mass graves
Forced labor on irrigation projects killed thousands through exhaustion, starvation, and beatings
Targeted ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham Muslims, and Thai minorities for elimination
Never faced justice - died under house arrest in 1998 before ECCC could try him
Related Investigations (2)
Criminal Charges & Violations
4 documented violations
UN Genocide Convention - GenocideOrdered systematic extermination of ethnic and religious minorities in Cambodia(Genocide)
Crimes Against Humanity - ExterminationPolicies killed 1.5-2 million Cambodians (25% of population)(Crimes Against Humanity)
Crimes Against Humanity - EnslavementForced entire population into agricultural slave labor(Crimes Against Humanity)
War Crimes - Mass ExecutionDirected systematic execution of prisoners and perceived enemies at Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields(War Crimes)
Known Associates & Connections
Nuon Chea
Brother Number Two and chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge
Sources & Documentation
2 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Personal Information
- Born
- 1925-05-19
- Birthplace
- Prek Sbauv, Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia
- Also Known As
- Saloth Sar, Brother Number One, Pouk, Hay, 87
Education
- •Technical school in Paris, France (1949-1953)
Key Timeline
1925-05-19
Born Saloth Sar in Kampong Thom Province
1949
Goes to Paris on scholarship; joins French Communist Party
1963
Becomes leader of Communist Party of Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge)
1975-04-17
Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh; evacuates all cities
1975-04
Declares "Year Zero"; abolishes money, education, religion
1976
Becomes Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea
1979-01-07
Vietnamese forces overthrow Khmer Rouge; Pol Pot flees to Thai border
1997
Internally purged by surviving Khmer Rouge leaders
1998-04-15
Dies under house arrest; never faced international trial