The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [6] (ICTR) formally closed [7] Dec. 31 after issuing 45 judgments. The ICTR, established in 1994, was the first international tribunal to deliver verdicts against those guilty of committing genocide. Within its 21 years, the ICTR sentenced 61 to terms of up to life imprisonment for their roles in the Rwanda massacres. There were 14 acquittals, and 10 accused were transferred to national courts. An International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has been established and eight fugitives remain at large.
In September a court in Toulouse, France, refused extradition requests [8] for Joseph Habyarimana, a Rwandan man, facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. Last January two Rwandan police officers were sentenced [9] to 20 years in jail for the murder of a Transparency International [10] anti-corruption activist. In July 2014 the ICTR unanimously affirmed [11] a 30-year prison sentence for former army chief Augustin Bizimungu [12] for the role he played in the genocide. In December 2012 the ICTR convicted [13] former Rwandan minister Augustin Ngirabatware, sentencing him to 35 years in prison on charges of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity.
From Jurist [14], Jan. 3. Used with permission.
Note: In addition to the ICTR, the Rwandan government also organized the village-based Gacaca [15] courts. Some 12,000 of these courts heard over 1.9 million cases before they were closed in 2012. In 30% of those cases, the defendants were acquitted; one in 10 defendants was sentenced to life imprisonment. In the remaining cases, sentences of between five and 25 years were handed down to those found guilty. (DW [16], June 19, 2012)
