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A court in France on Tuesday sentenced a former Rwandan official to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of genocide.
Laurent Bucyibaruta is the most senior Rwandan official to face trial in France for the 1994 massacre, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and Hutus were killed over 100 days.
The case against this 78-year-old focused on several “security” meetings that he had either ordered or attended. Prosecutors argued that these meetings were called to plan the killing campaign.
Specifically, the former governor of Gikongoro province has been accused of luring thousands of people to take shelter in a school in the region, promising them water, food and protection.
A few days later, in the early hours of April 21, tens of thousands of Tutsis were executed, an event that constitutes one of the bloodiest episodes of the genocide.
The court also said it had investigated Bucyibaruta’s responsibility for the massacre at another school, where nearly 99 Tutsis were executed on May 7, 1994, but he was also being investigated for the killing of Tutsi prisoners in Gikongoro prison, including the execution. of the three priests.
During the trial, Bucyibaruta denied any involvement in the murder.
In this trial, the testimonies of 100 witnesses were taken into account, including survivors from Rwanda, who testified either in court or via video link.
Bucyibaruta, who has lived in France since 1997, has health problems and has been allowed to remain under house arrest during the trial.
France has faced pressure from activists to prosecute Rwandan genocide suspects who have taken refuge in France following the events in their country.
The French government at the time when the genocide took place was a supporter of the Hutu regime, which was in power at that time./ Radio Free Europe
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