Belgium court convicts Rwanda ex-military officer in 1994 killings News
Belgium court convicts Rwanda ex-military officer in 1994 killings

[JURIST] A Belgian court Wednesday convicted former Rwandan Army Major Bernard Ntuyahaga [TrialWatch backgrounder] of premeditated homicide for Ntuyahaga's role in the murder of 10 Belgian peacekeepers tasked with providing security for then-Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana [FAWE profile] in the first week of the 1994 Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder]. The jury also convicted Ntuyahaga of killing several Tutsis, but acquitted Ntuyahaga of the killing of Uwilingiyimana and her husband. Ntuyahaga faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and will be sentenced Thursday.

Ntuyahaga, whose trial began in April [JURIST report], has denied any involvement [JURIST report] in the killing of the Belgians. Ntuyahaga was extradited to Tanzania in 1998 to face genocide and war crimes charges [indictment, PDF] arising from the same incident, but the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda dropped all charges [decision text] in 1999. Ntuyahaga then voluntarily surrendered himself to Belgian authorities in 2004 after a prolonged extradition attempt. AFP has more.

UPDATE – Ntuyahaga has been sentenced to 20 years in prison AP has more.

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