Former Rwandan Army Colonel Convicted Over 1994 Genocide
By VOA News
18 December 2008
A U.N. court has sentenced a former Rwandan army colonel to life in prison for his role in plotting Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Colonel Theoneste Bagosora (file photo)
The Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Theoneste Bagosora guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The United Nations has described Bagosora as one of the main instigators of the 1994 massacres that killed an estimated 800,000 people.
Two other former army officers were also convicted Thursday for their role in the 100-day slaughter.
Earlier the court sent the former president's brother-in-law, Protais Zigiranyirazo, to jail for 20 years for genocide and extermination.
The Canadian who led U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda, Romeo Dallaire, described Bagosora as an extremist Hutu who declared the army in charge of the country.
In a recent interview, Dallaire told U.S. broadcaster CNN that within hours of that decree, government troops and civilian death squads began slaughtering ethnic Tutsis.
By VOA News
18 December 2008
A U.N. court has sentenced a former Rwandan army colonel to life in prison for his role in plotting Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Colonel Theoneste Bagosora (file photo)
The Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Theoneste Bagosora guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The United Nations has described Bagosora as one of the main instigators of the 1994 massacres that killed an estimated 800,000 people.
Two other former army officers were also convicted Thursday for their role in the 100-day slaughter.
Earlier the court sent the former president's brother-in-law, Protais Zigiranyirazo, to jail for 20 years for genocide and extermination.
The Canadian who led U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda, Romeo Dallaire, described Bagosora as an extremist Hutu who declared the army in charge of the country.
In a recent interview, Dallaire told U.S. broadcaster CNN that within hours of that decree, government troops and civilian death squads began slaughtering ethnic Tutsis.
