Rwanda/Canada – war crimes

Canadian judge convicts Rwandan of genocide

Article published on the 2009-05-23 Latest update 2009-05-23 10:22 TU

Montreal courthouse
(Photo: justice.gouv.qc.ca)

A Quebec court convicted a former Rwandan militia leader of seven counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his participation in rapes, murder and torture in southern Rwanda in 1994. Désiré Munyaneza is the first person convicted in Canada for crimes committed elsewhere.

Judge André Denis spoke the words of one of an anonymous witness to introduce his ruling: "Even if I said nothing, the air, the earth and the wind would howl the truth of what happened in Rwanda."

In his ruling, Denis expressed no doubts that Munyaneza raped and massacred Tutsi civilians in Butare prefecture in 1994. He ruled that Munyaneza “specifically intended to destroy the Tutsi ethnic group in Butare and in the surrounding communes.”

The trial lasted over two years, and 66 witnesses took the stand in Canada, Rwanda, Tanzania and France, many of them anonymously, for fear of repercussions.

The defence has said it will appeal the ruling.

Munyaneza arrived in Canada in 1997, where he applied for asylum. His application was rejected, and he was arrested by police in 2005.

Human rights groups welcomed the ruling, as Munyaneza is the first person to be convicted under a 2000 law granting Canadian courts universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity. They hope that the judgement will pave the road for other war crimes.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9 September, and Munyaneza faces a maximum 25 years in prison.