Bou Meng, a Cambodian artist and survivor of a Khmer Rouge torture center, has died at 85

Cambodian artist Bou Meng, a survivor of a Khmer Rouge torture center, has passed away at the age of 85. Known as one of only seven individuals who survived the notorious S-21 prison, Bou Meng was a skilled painter who created portraits of the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. His ability to paint these portraits is what kept him alive during his nearly two-year imprisonment.

After his release, Bou Meng testified in 2009 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, alongside two other survivors, testifying about the atrocities committed at S-21. He revealed that painting large images of Pol Pot and other communist icons helped to save his life. Bou Meng's story highlights the tragic history of the Khmer Rouge regime, which caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians through forced labor, starvation, medical neglect, and executions.