General

Rwandan convicted of genocide in Montreal court

A first under Canadian war crimes law

In the first conviction under a Canadian war crimes law introduced in 2000, Désiré Munyaneza, a Rwandan who moved to Canada claiming to be a refugee in 1997, was convicted on seven charges relating to the 1994 genocide. Munyaneza, a Hutu son of a wealthy businessman, was 27 when the genocide took place. He was found guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide for participating in murders and rapes in the Butare resion. “The accused’s criminal intent was demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt, as was his culpable violence,” wrote Justice André Denis of the Quebec Superior Court, who added that Munyaneza “generally treated Tutsi inhumanely and degradingly.” Under the war crimes law, Canada can prosecute residents for acts committed in other countries. Munyaneza, a father of two children, will be sentenced Sept. 9; he faces up to life in prison.

CBC News

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