\nArusha, 9 July 2008 (FH) - The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will render its ruling on 29 August in
\nthe trial of former top commander ,Lieutenant Colonel Tharcisse Muvunyi,sentenced to 25 years, reports Hirondelle Agency.\n<\/p>\n
\nDuring the appeal hearing in March, the prosecutor had asked the judges to sentence the officer to life in prison.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe 25-year sentence does not reflect the intrinsic gravity of the crime of incitement to commit genocide especially that it was perpetrated by an
\nofficer of the rank of Colonel\u201d, argued the prosecution.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe First Instance Chamber had concluded that Muvunyi had gone to at least two places in the prefecture of Butare, southern Rwanda, in 1994 and had
\ncalled on Hutu civilians to kill ethnic Tutsis.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHis position of the highest ranking officer in the prefecture inciting Hutu peasants to commit genocide should have been regarded as an
\naggravating circumstance\u201d, claimed the prosecution, adding that the crime of incitement to commit genocide is one of the gravest crimes which, by
\nitself, deserved life imprisonment.\n<\/p>\n
\nDuring his closing remarks, Muvunyi, who faces crimes committed in 1994 by soldiers of the School of Warrant Officers (ESO) of Butare, has strongly
\ndenied ever having been commander of the military academy.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe had also affirmed that he did not have any authority to punish the guilty soldiers. \u201cThere was no official text or any communication which
\nnamed me to this position\u201d, he stated, pleading with the appeal judges to acquit him.\n<\/p>\n
\nMuvunyi\u2019s judgment will be preceded by arguments in the appeal filed by Fran\u00e7ois Karera, the former prefect of rural Kigali, sentenced to life in
\nprison on 7 December 2007.\n<\/p>\n
\nER\/PB\/MM\/SC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arusha, 9 July 2008 (FH) - The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will render its ruling on 29 August in the trial of former top commander ,Lieutenant Colonel Tharcisse Muvunyi,sentenced to 25 years, reports Hirondelle Agency. During the appeal hearing in March, the prosecutor had asked the judges to sentence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-15462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n