Rwanda Genocide appeals court has upheld life imprisonment sentence given to Francois Karera for his involvement in the country’s most infamous 1994 genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) convicted Mr karera in December 2007 on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Tribunal had found that Mr Karera, who served as the chief administrator of Kigali-Rural Prefecture between April and July 1994, ordered and encouraged attacks by Hutu militiamen and soldiers against Tutsis in his prefecture.
The Tribunal communiqué said Mr Karera will remain in the UN Detention Facility in Arusha Tanzania until he is transferred to the country in which he will serve his sentence.
The Appeals Chamber reversed Mr Karera’s conviction for aiding and abetting genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity, for ordering genocide and extermination and murder as crimes against humanity and for ordering genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. It however maintained charges of genocide and against humanity.
The Appeals Chamber composed of Judges Fausto Pocar, presiding, Mohamed Shahabuddeen, Mehmet Güney, Liu Daqun, and Theodor Meron allowed Karera’s appeal in part.
More than 800,000 people were killed by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates during a period of less than 100 days starting in April 1994 in Rwanda.
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