09.11.09 - RWANDA/GACACA - LIFE SENTENCE FOR FORMER MAYOR BIZIMANA

Kigali, November 09, 2009 (FH) - A Gacaca court for Appeal condemned Saturday the former Mayor of Nyarugenge district (Kigali ), Jean Bizimana, to life in jail for complicity in genocide.

He had been acquitted on first hearing earlier this year.

The appeal court found him guilty of planning, supervising and executing genocide, drawing lists of Tutsis to be killed, and distributing weapons, according to sources who attended the trial. He was also convicted for complicity in murders.   

The gacaca courts, adapted from a form of Rwandan traditional justice, are tasked with trying suspected perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide which left some 800,000  people dead, according to the UN.   These village courts, whose judges are elected from the community, can hand down sentences up to life imprisonment.

SRE-ER/GF

© Hirondelle News Agency

Republish
Justice Info is on Bluesky
Like us, you used to be a fan of Twitter but you're disappointed with X? Then join us on Bluesky and let's set the record straight, in a healthier way.