Link: Canadian court convicts Rwandan of genocide [AFP]
A Canadian court has convicted Desire Munyaneza of genocide after he was found guilty of seven counts of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. His TRIAL profile states that he played a significant role in the rape and sexual assault of several women and girls during the military campaign and that he distinguished himself by virtue “of his energy and dedication to the policy of massacres, and the efficiency of his operations”.
The trial took over two years to play out and heard testimony from 66 witnesses in four countries. Well-known witnesses to the trial included Romeo Dallaire, the famous UN official who tried to warn the world of the genocide as well as Alison des Forges who died in February in the Buffalo Air Crash.
Munyaneza is likely to be sentenced to life in prison which I believe carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in Canada. Under Canadian law, any individual can be charged with genocide if they enter into Canadian territory following their crime:
“In Canada the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act makes it an offence under Canadian law to commit genocide, whether inside or outside Canada. A person may be charged under this law if, at the time of the crime, the perpetrator was a Canadian citizen or was employed by Canada, if the victim was a Canadian citizen or a citizen of a country allied to Canada, if the perpetrator was a citizen of, or employed by, a country that Canada was engaged in armed conflict with or if, at any time after committing the crime, the perpetrator enters Canadian territory” - Wikipedia
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