Map of Rwanda. Courtesy of the ICTR.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Monday convicted former Rwanda businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga on charges of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. Kanyarukiga was indicted in 2001 for his alleged involvement with the 1994 Rwanda genocide and faced charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. The charges arose from events in which the former businessman is said to have planned and supervised large-scale killings of Tutsis in Rwanda’s Kibuye prefecture through a conspiracy with police and government officials. Specifically, the court highlighted Kanyarukiga’s involvement with the church massacre in Nyange that killed more than 2,000 Tutsi victims, which triggered the charge of extermination as a crime against humanity.
In light of the genocide conviction, the ICTR acquitted Kanyarukiga on the charge of complicity of genocide because the conviction negates the charge of complicity. Handing down the sentence, Trial Chamber II composed of Judges Taghrid Hikmet, Presiding, Seon Ki Park and Joseph Masanche said it was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Kanyarukiga was criminally responsible under Article 6 (1) of the Statute for planning the killing of members of the Tutsi ethnic group at the Nyange Church and was therefore guilty of genocide. The ICTR sentenced the 65-year-old Kanyarukiga to 30 years in prison for his crimes. Read more about the case at the ICTR official website.
Comments