Phnom Penh , Cambodia ( CNN ) -- A man who ran a notorious torture prison where more than 14,000 people died during the Khmer Rouge regime was found guilty of war crimes Monday and sentenced to 35 years in prison -- with five years taken off that sentence for time served . The verdict against Kaing Guek Eav , alias Duch , also convicted him of crimes against humanity , murder and torture . It was a historic first for a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal . Duch , 67 , was the head of the S-21 prison , where at least 14,000 people died . `` It 's clear that he will never be a free man again , '' said Youk Chhang , director of Documentation Center of Cambodia . Prosecutors had asked for a 45-year sentence with five years ' credit for time served . Duch pleaded guilty but said he was only following orders and asked for forgiveness . In the last week of the trial , he argued that international law did not apply to him because he was following orders . Few people brought to the prison made it out alive ; only about a dozen were found by the Vietnamese who invaded Cambodia in 1979 . Duch has acknowledged his role overseeing the prison but has sought release after 10 years in detention , angering survivors . Outside the court on Monday , hundreds of Cambodians , including the Muslim minority known as Cham , watched previous court sessions on large television screens . Timeline : Rise of Khmer Rouge and its aftermath . `` We want to hear directly from the court what the verdict will be , '' said Tin Mosa , who along with 40 others from the Cham group , got up early Monday to come to the court . `` I can assume that the international court is good enough to bring justice for the Cambodian people , especially for me , '' he said . `` I want to see Duch die in jail . '' More than 10 million Cambodians were expected to watch the live broadcast of the verdict being televised across the country , said Reach Sambath , the spokesman for the court . `` Today is a historic important day for the people of Cambodia , '' Sambath said . At least 1.7 million people -- nearly a quarter of Cambodia 's population -- died under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime from execution , disease , starvation and overwork , according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia . Another four of the ultra-Maoist regime 's former leaders are waiting to see if they will stand trial before a U.N.-backed tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity . The tribunal began its work in 2007 after a decade of on-and-off negotiations between the United Nations and Cambodia over the structure and the functioning of the court . Chhang , director of the documentation center , said his organization was holding verdict watch gatherings in seven provinces so that rural Cambodians could observe . Chhang said the verdict may not suit everyone , but he thinks Cambodians will be able to turn over a new leaf once the verdict is announced . `` This is what we have , and then we must move [ on ] . We have our own identity now , our own family , our own society now . We have to build it , make it strong , to prevent [ the past ] from happening '' again , '' he said . On Sunday , parents , siblings , friends and loved ones gathered before monks in a courtyard of the prison site -- now a museum -- to participate in a ceremony to honor the dead . Among them were survivors of S-21 , such as Bou Meng , who wept at times during the memorial . `` I have been waiting for justice for 30 years , '' he said . `` If the verdict does not please me , I will be disappointed forever . '' Eng Chanthy , 47 , lost her father , six brothers and grandfather to the Khmer Rouge due to starvation . `` I believe that justice will be brought by the tribunal court , '' Chanthy said . `` I heard Duch was apologizing to the Cambodian people and asking the people to pardon to him , and I do n't agree with him asking for freedom . '' `` I feel that Duch should die in prison . I do n't want to see him live in freedom , '' she said .
NEW : Kaing Guek Eave , alias Duch , found guilty , gets 35 years in prison . NEW : Verdict is historic first for U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal . Duch pleaded guilty but said he was following orders . Duch was member of the Khmer Rouge regime who ran S-21 torture prison .