JURIST - Paper Chase: Norway court convicts Rwandan genocide defendant

[JURIST] An Oslo City Court on Thursday sentenced a Rwandan man to 21 years for being an accomplice to the 1994 Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. His conviction [Dagsavisen report; Norwegian] was specifically related to 2,000 killings during April 1994 to which the defendant, Bugingo, had significant connection. Sadi Bugingo moved [Views from Norway report] to Norway in 1994 after the genocide and has been working as a janitor in Bergen. He was uncovered and arrested as a result of a May 2011 investigation. Bugingo argued he was not responsible for the killings and instead tried to save the individuals that were being targeted. However, the court relied on several witnesses in attributing killings in Berenga, Economat and Kibungo to Bugingo. Continuing to claim his innocence, Bugingo appealed immediately following the ruling.

Last month, a Rwandan genocide suspect was arrested [JURIST report] in France. Also in January the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] convicted [JURIST report] former Rwandan minister Augustin Ngirabatware [case materials], sentencing him to 35 years in prison and concluding the tribunal's final trial. Ngirabatware was found guilty on charges of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape as a crime against humanity. In December the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution [JURIST report] to extend the term of office of five judges of the ICTR.