John Dawson Dewhirst
John Dawson Dewhirst (* 1952 in Newcastle upon Tyne , † around 1978) was a British teacher and one of the western tourists who fell victim to the terror regime of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot in Cambodia and was part of worldwide reporting on this occasion.
Events
The hobby sailor John Dewhirst spent his vacation in August 1978 with two friends, the Canadian Stuart Glass and the New Zealander Kerry Hamill, on the yacht Foxy Lady off the coast of Thailand . After the yacht drifted off towards Cambodia and disappeared along with its crew, it was assumed that Dewhirst and his two companions were victims of Thai pirates or were killed in a storm.
It was not until 1979, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the liberation of the Tuol Sleng torture prison (S-21) in Phnom Penh , that new information emerged about the whereabouts of Dewhirt and his friends. Since every new prisoner was photographed after delivery and he was forced to disclose all information about himself, extensive documentation was found on the inmates. In the documents of the torture prison one discovered photos of the missing Englishman as well as the forced statements, the so-called confessions , Dewhirsts. It has since been suspected that the tourists were abducted by a Khmer Rouge patrol boat . Stuart Glass was apparently shot and Dewhirst was taken to Phnom Penh with Kerry Hamill. The exact process and whereabouts have not been proven beyond doubt, even if it is assumed that Dewhirst was burned alive in Choeung Ek , the most famous of the Killing Fields . Kerry Hamill was also missing and is believed to have been executed.
For a long time, the events were the cause of worldwide reporting and research. The prison director, Kaing Guek Eav , admitted that he remembered Dewhirst. The bereaved relatives of Dewhirst campaigned for the case to be dealt with during the trial of Kaing Guek Eav. Rob Hamill, the younger brother of Kerry Hamill, testified in the trial against the director of the torture prison.
Web links
- BBC News, coverage of the Dewhirst case
- S-21 victim - John Dewhirst, report with picture
- Mail - online, reporting on the Dewhirst case
Individual evidence
- ^ John Dewhirst, How the Khmer Rouge claimed a British victim, BBC News
- ↑ John Dewhirst, Disappearance and Death Information, Newspaper Report
- ↑ Reporting, brother of one of the victims testifies in the trial against the director of the torture prison ( memento from June 1, 2010 on WebCite )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dewhirst, John Dawson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British teacher and victim of the Khmer Rouge terror regime under Pol Pot in Cambodia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1952 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1978 |