One of the only survivors of the Khmer Rouge's main torture center gave a long-awaited testimony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on June 29, weeping as he recounted the conditions at a facility where 16,000 others were tortured before execution.

Vann Nath, 63, escaped execution because he was an artist, and took the job of painting and sculpting portraits of the Khmer Rouge's late leader, Pol Pot. His special status did not spare him misery.

"The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little," Vann Nath told the tribunal, tears streaming down his face. "I even thought eating human flesh would be a good meal."

The testimony came at the trial of Kaing Guek Eav — better known as Duch, who headed the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh from 1975 to 1979. Up to 16,000 men, women and children were tortured under his command and later taken away to be killed. Only 14 people, including Vann Nath, are thought to have survived.