Canada jails Rwandan over genocide.10/30/2009 4:15:53 AM A Rwandan man charged with crimes against humanity has been jailed for life under a Canadian law allowing people in the North American nation Noun 1. North American nation - any country on the North American continent North American country country, land, state - the territory occupied by a nation; "he returned to the land of his birth"; "he visited several European countries" to be tried for crimes committed abroad. Desire Munyaneza, the first person to be convicted under the war-crimes act, was sentenced on Thursday after a court found him guilty in May of seven charges relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the Rwandan genocide The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu sympathizers in Rwanda and was the largest atrocity during the Rwandan Civil War. . The charges included genocide genocide, in international law, the intentional and systematic destruction, wholly or in part, by a government of a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group. , crimes against humanity and war crimes. During the genocide in 1994, at least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutu extremists known as the Interahamwe in a spate of killings that lasted 100 days. No parole Munyaneza, a 42-year-old Hutu denied refugee status in September 2000, will not be eligible for parole for 25 years. He has since lost several appeals. Richard Perras, the defence lawyer, argued last month that the sentence should be closer to 20 years and said his client would appeal the conviction. Munyaneza was living in Toronto and was arrested in October 2005 after reports surfaced that he had been seen in Canada's Rwandan community. African Rights, a Rwandan group that has documented the genocide, linked Munyaneza to prominent figures indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) (French: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda, Kinyarwanda: Urukiko Nshinjabyaha Mpuzamahanga rwagenewe u Rwanda . About 66 witnesses testified in Montreal during the trial, often behind closed doors to protect their identities. Many accused Munyaneza, who was 27 at the time, of being a ground-level leader in a militia militia (məlĭsh`ə), military organization composed of citizens enrolled and trained for service in times of national emergency. Its ranks may be filled either by enlistment or conscription. group that raped and murdered dozens. Bruce Broomhall, of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, said on Thursday: "He is the Hutu commercial elite of a fairly large community in Rwanda, who saw in the genocide a kind of opportunity to promote himself and to be prominent in his community." The sentencing was closely followed by a number of Rwandan-Canadian's who had endured the genocide. 'Rwandans happy' Emmanuel Muhawenimena, who said he lost 70 family members in the genocide, said the result would be felt around the world. "So many Rwandans in Montreal, across Canada Across Canada was an afternoon program that formerly aired on The Weather Network. The segment ran from early 1999 until mid 2002. The show ran from 3:00PM ET until 7:00 PM ET. , all over the world, they are happy today," he said. Jean-Paul Nyilinkwaya, a Rwandan who lives in Montreal and whose father was killed in the genocide, said he hoped Thursday would just be the beginning. "This should be a sign that, you know, it can work and it is positive. So, you know, we hope the Canadian government can forge ahead and bring everybody to justice" he said. Nyilinkwaya, who was instrumental in Munyaneza's capture in Canada, said the sentence allows victims to believe humanity still exists. Aljazeera.net 2003 - 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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