Vann Nath the 65 year old Cambodian painter, artist, human rights activist and recipient of the prestigious Lillian Hellman/Hammett Award for his outspoken advocacy for justice to victims of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge has died. Nath had survived along with six others from the Toul Sleng prison where over a period of three years over 15,000 people were executed. The prison was a former school used to torture the prisoners before being taken out to the ‘Killing Fields’ where the prisoners were killed with a savage blow to the back of the neck. Nath had managed to survive due to his portraiture skills in painting the Khmer Rouge leaders including the infamous Pol Pot. Nath a former Buddhist monk was awarded the Lillian Hellman/Hammett Award for recognition of his courage in the face of political persecution.

 

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