Cambodja - Cambodia's UN-backed genocide court has rejected an appeal by Khmer Rouge jailer Duch and increased his sentence to life imprisonment.

Duch, born Kaing Guek Eav, was jailed in 2010 for his role in running a notorious prison where thousands of inmates were killed.

He had appealed on the grounds that he was a junior official following orders.

But judges rejected his claim and increased his sentence from 35 years to life.

Duch - the first senior Khmer Rouge official to face charges before the court - was convicted of crimes against humanity in July 2010. He appealed against the verdict in March 2011.

The 69-year-old was the commander of Tuol Sleng prison, where at least 15,000 men, women and children deemed enemies of the regime were tortured and then executed in "killing fields" outside Phnom Penh.

He had argued that he should never have been tried, claiming that he was a  junior official following his superiors' orders on pain of death.

The judges had warned that clapping and cheering would not be tolerated inside the courtroom. But people found it hard to contain their emotions.

Dozens of young Cambodians had gathered in the outdoor cafe which serves as an overflow area, following proceedings on big screens. They cheered as the judges brought the hearing to a close, sending Duch to prison for the rest of his life.

There was also delight on the faces of those who were old enough to have lived  through the horrors of the Pol Pot era. One woman told the BBC that she had been too nervous to sleep the night before the hearing. But she thought the life sentence represented justice, and renewed her optimism in the UN-backed process.

There are dissenting voices. Theary Seng, who leads the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims, saw the life sentence as an attempt to make Duch the sole scapegoat for all the atrocities committed by Pol Pot's government.

Others will share her concern that even though the trial of the three most senior surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge is under way, the frail old men may die before the end of the process.