U.N. court hands Rwanda tea boss 8 year prison term

Fri, Nov 6 01:39 AM

A U.N. genocide court on Thursday sentenced a former tea industry official from Rwanda to eight years in prison for ordering subordinates to kill hundreds of minority Tutsis hiding in a church.

Michel Bagaragaza, a former director general of Rwanda's tea industry regulator, was found guilty on one count of complicity in genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania.

"The Trial Chamber found him guilty of the charge of having substantially contributed to the killings of more than one thousand Tutsis who sought refuge at Kesho Hill and at Nyundo Cathedral," the court said in a statement.

In its indictment, the court accused him of making hate speeches to incite Hutus to kill, raising money to train militias and ordering tea factory employees to give fuel to the Interahamwe militia responsible for much of the killing.

"It also found that he aided and abetted the planners and principal perpetrators of the killings, including military and civilian leaders and members of the Interahamwe militia, members of the Presidential Guard, military personnel, and the staff of Rubaya and Nyabitu Tea Factories," the court said.

Ethnic Hutu militia and soldiers slaughtered 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in just 100 days during the 1994 massacre.

The U.N. court, established in 1994 in Arusha, Tanzania, said Bagaragaza would get credit for time spent in detention since his surrender in 2005.

Bagaragaza was initially charged with "conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, and in the alternative, complicity in genocide".

Attempts to transfer his case to a national jurisdiction failed. The court accepted a second guilty plea entered in August after being satisfied it was voluntary, informed and unequivocal.

Without going into details, Roland Amoussouga, court spokesperson, said Bagaragaza also received a shorter sentence because he helped the prosecution, and regretted his actions.

"It was one of the most important factors that was taken into account. Some people who have pleaded guilty have still been given life but the Chamber was satisfied his remorse is genuine," Amoussouga told Reuters by phone from Arusha.

"He has even tears in his eyes today. It shows to the world he regrets his actions. He recognised that he erred and had poor judgement. This will help to heal the wounds, not to deepen them."

Bagaragaza's sentencing brings the number of judgements by the court to 40. Six of those were acquittals.

The court has until 2010 to hear all appeals before winding up.

(Additional reporting and writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)

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