Francois Bazaramba, who has lived in Finland since 2003, was convicted of acts of genocide although he was acquitted of several of the murder charges.
The lower court found him guilty of intending to "destroy in whole or part the Rwandan Tutsis as a group," according to the verdict. It added that he had spread anti-Tutsi propaganda and incited Hutus "to killings through fomenting anger and contempt towards Tutsis."
Both parties filed an appeal.
Bazaramba was arrested in April 2007. His trial opened in September 2009 after Finland had refused to extradite him to Rwanda saying he might not receive a fair trial in his home country.
It was the first genocide trial in Finland and was held there because the country has signed international agreements to investigate and try cases of genocide, if a suspect is living in Finland or has been apprehended here.
ER/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency
