\nArusha, 30 January, 2009 (FH)---The semi-traditional Gacaca Appeals Court of Nyagatare, Eastern Province, has upheld the sentence of life imprisonment in isolation of a former officer of the rebel Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), after being found guilty of having played a part in the 1994 genocide, reports Hirondelle Agency.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe gacaca lower court of the Nyagatare ruled on 18 December, last year, that Brigadier General Seraphin Bizimungu, alias Amani Mahoro, had been implicated in February 1994 massacres of ethnic Tutsis in the east of the country, where he had been deployed. Bizimungu had appealed against the decision.\n<\/p>\n
\nAt that time, Bizimungu was a young officer in Rwandan army, then fighting with the rebels of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), currently in power.\n<\/p>\n
\nA native of former prefecture of Gisenyi, northern Rwanda, Bizimungu (no relation with the former Rwandan President Pastor Bizimungu), belonged to the military command of FDLR based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).\n<\/p>\n
\nEntered in dissidence, he had returned to Rwanda in December 2005 with several dozen combatants.\n<\/p>\n
\n He was integrated into the new Rwandan army, and worked at the interior intelligence services.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Gacaca courts (pronounced gatchatcha) are charged with trying people suspected of having taking part in the genocide in 1994. The courts are presided by high esteem persons from the society and not professional judges.\n<\/p>\n
\nSC\/GF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arusha, 30 January, 2009 (FH)---The semi-traditional Gacaca Appeals Court of Nyagatare, Eastern Province, has upheld the sentence of life imprisonment in isolation of a former officer of the rebel Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), after being found guilty of having played a part in the 1994 genocide, reports Hirondelle Agency.<\/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-21006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hirondellenews"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n