(CNN) -- Lawyers for a man who ran a notorious torture prison in Cambodia where more than 14,000 people died during the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime are appealing his conviction.
The lawyers for Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, say he should be acquitted since he was "a witness of the events of the relevant period" and should be in witness protection -- not detention.
Duch was convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, murder and torture in July in a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal also known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Duch's lawyers also say the court did not have jurisdiction, the appeal states.
"To interpret the applicable law in reliance on international customary law is inconsistent" with the law of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, according to the appeal.
Earlier this month, prosecutors in Cambodia appealed Duch's 30-year sentence, saying the punishment was too light.
"The co-prosecutors are of the view that the judgment gives insufficient weight to the gravity of Duch's crimes and his role and his willing participation in those crimes," they said in a statement. "At the same time, the co-prosecutors believe that undue weight is placed on any mitigating circumstances applicable to Duch". CNN
