The Hague, Netherlands – A Dutch court on Friday convicted a 66-year-old Rwandan man of participation in his home country's 1994 genocide and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court stated that the defendant took part in attacks that involved the looting and burning of homes in two predominantly Tutsi communities. He also threw a grenade into a crowd of Tutsis who were seeking shelter in a soccer stadium.
The court determined that the defendant's actions demonstrated a significant disregard for human dignity and life, concluding that "only a lifelong prison sentence does justice to the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the victims and the bereaved families."
During the 1994 genocide, Hutu extremists orchestrated a campaign in which more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Many of the leaders responsible for the genocide were tried and convicted by a United Nations war crimes tribunal, which has since closed.
The defendant left Rwanda following the genocide and later settled in the Netherlands, where authorities arrested and prosecuted him. The trial was the conclusion of an investigation that spanned several years, during which police and an investigating judge interviewed over 30 witnesses, the majority of whom were in Rwanda. Nine victims or their next of kin attended the trial earlier this year.