Africa

Africa

Rwanda ex-minister gets 35 years for genocide

21 December 2012 04:39 (UTC +04:00)

On Thursday, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) sentenced 55-year-old Augustin Ngirabatware to the jail term after finding him guilty of genocide, incitement to genocide, and rape as a crime against humanity, AFP reported.

"For these crimes the court sentences you to 35 years in prison," Judge William Hussein Sekule told Ngirabatware.

Ngirabatware was Rwanda's planning minister at the time of the genocide. He is the son-in-law of Felicien Kabuga, Rwanda's most wanted man, who is accused by the tribunal of having bankrolled the genocide. Kabuga is still at large.

The Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR, Hassan Bubacar Jallow hailed the ruling, saying, "The delivery of judgment today in this case marks a historic occasion and important milestone in the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda."

The former minister was detained in Germany in September 2007 and transferred for trial at the ICTR in 2009.

The Rwandan genocide began after the country's Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira were killed in a plane crash.

Hutus were afterwards incited to commit acts of ethnic violence against Tutsis.

Soldiers and police under Health Minister Casimir Bizimungu's command directed the killing of thousands of Tutsis who had sought refuge in churches, hospitals, and schools. The UN says about 200,000 Hutus participated in the massacre.

800,000 to one million people were killed in the Rwandan genocide, which lasted for approximately 100 days, and hence is called the "100 Days of Hell."

Ngirabatware’s trial was the last to be held by the ICTR, which was set up under a UN Security Council resolution in November 1994 to try the ringleaders of the genocide.

On its website, the ICTR says it has completed 71 cases since 1994. Ten of those accused have been acquitted, while 32 convicts are serving sentences. The tribunal is due to close in 2014 after it has finalized 16 appeal cases.