Julienne, whose case does not mention another name, was tried by the gacaca court of the Cyivugiza sector, in the Rwandan capital.
She was convicted for planning and organization of the genocide within a crisis committee in Nyamirambo (a district close to Cyivugiza), complicity in the murders of several people in Cyivugiza.
The judgment opens a series of judgements in absentia in a trial involving about 50 defendants, including two other women and a deputy of the former regime.
The law on the gacaca courts envisages the possibility of trial in absentia. A person convicted in absentia, however, has the right, if they present themselves after the judgement, to appeal.
With or without the defendants, the gacaca court of Cyivugiza wants to empty their caseload, especially seeing that the end of the work of these popular courts is scheduled for next June.
SRE/ER/MM/SC
© Hirondelle News Agency
