A United Nations
court today sentenced the alleged mastermind behind the 1994 massacre
of hundreds of thousands of people in Rwanda and two co-defendants to
life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In a trial that began nearly nine years ago, the UN International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Colonel Théoneste Bagosora,
the highest authority over the Rwandan military in April 1994 when the
genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutu extremists began,
responsible for the killing of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and
other leading officials.
The court, which sits in Arusha, Tanzania, found him equally guilty in
connection with the killing of 10 Belgian peacekeepers by Rwandan
soldiers, and responsible for the organized killings perpetrated by
soldiers and militiamen in Kigali, the capital, and Gisenyi in the west
of the tiny country between 6 and 9 April, 1994.
The ICTR found Lieutenant-Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva guilty as
commander of the elite Para Commando Battalion for the participation of
his soldiers in killings at Kabeza, Nyanza Hill and the African and
Mauritian Statistical and Economic Institute in Kigali.
Major Aloys Ntabakuze was found guilty in connection with the massacres
at Mutende University, the targeted killings of civilians in Gisenyi
prefecture, and for sending militiamen to Bisesero in Kibuye prefecture
to kill displaced Tutsis in June 1994.
A fourth defendant, Brigadier-General Gratien Kabiligi, was acquitted
and ordered released. The prosecution alleged that he participated in
the distribution of weapons, meetings to plan genocide and a number of
specific crimes but the court found that it was not proven that he had
operational authority or targeted civilians.
All of the accused were acquitted of conspiring to commit genocide
before 7 April, when the violence erupted following the death a day
earlier of President Juvénal Habyarimana when his plane was shot down.
A total of 242 witnesses were heard during the trial – 82 for the
prosecution and 160 for the defence – during 408 days of active
sessions.
In another case the ICTR sentenced Protais Zigiranyirazo, Mr.
Habyarimana’s brother-in-law, to 20 years jail on charges of genocide
and extermination as a crime against humanity for “participating in a
joint criminal enterprise with the common purpose of committing
genocide and extermination of Tutsi at Kesho Hill as well as aiding and
abetting genocide at the Kiyovu roadblock.”
But it acquitted the defendant, also known as “Mr. Z,” of conspiracy to
commit genocide, complicity in genocide and murder as a crime against
humanity, declaring that the prosecution had failed to prove that he
conspired with officials to plan or facilitate attacks on Tutsis or
that he had criminal responsibility for alleged involvement in the
Interahamwe militant Hutu group.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the Tribunal for its continued efforts to complete its work while upholding due process and the rights of the accused.
“These judgments constitute a major step in the fight against the
impunity of those responsible for the most serious crimes of
international concern,” a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson
said. “The Secretary-General firmly believes that international justice
is an essential component of peace and reconciliation.”
