Rwandan ex-minister jailed for genocide

Augustin Ngirabatware sentenced to 35 years in jail by UN tribunal for his role in 1994 genocide.

Rwandan genocide victims
The genocide killed 800,000 people in the East African country [EPA]

A former Rwandan minister has been sentenced to a 35-year jail term for genocide by the United Nations’ tribunal for Rwanda.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Arusha, Tanzania, found Augustin Ngirabatware guilty of genocide, incitement to commit genocide and rape.

Ngirabatware was Rwanda’s planning minister at the time of the 1994 genocide, and is considered the most notorious of the nine people indicted by the tribunal.

The tribunal is set to complete its tasks by the end of 2014.

In a separate case, a French court on Wednesday refused to authorise the extradition of another former minister accused in the genocide.

Hyacinthe Nsengiyumva Rafiki, Rwandan minister for public works at the time, is wanted by the Rwandan government, who have been seeking his extradition since 2008 for his involvement in the mass genocide that killed 800,000 people in the ethnic conflict 18 years ago.

The Paris court of appeal ruled that the charges were insufficiently precise and could not be directly linked to Nsengiyumva.

However, he could be facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, if found guilty by French authorities who are examining a case filed by a group of Rwandan emigrants earlier this year.

Source: News Agencies