By Tamara Alfred
Impunity Watch Reporter
The only woman to ever be indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, Rwanda’s former minister of family and women affairs, was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 24 for genocide and rape, among other crimes.
Nyiramasuhuko, 65, her son Arsene Shalom Ntahobali and the former mayor, Elie Ndayambaje, were all given life sentences. Each had been convicted of extermination, rape and persecution as crimes against humanity during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Over 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were murdered during the conflict.
“Hoping to find safety and security, they [ethnic Tutsis seeking refuge in the local government] instead found themselves subject to abductions, rapes, and murder,” said Presiding Judge William Sekule. “The evidence…paints a clear picture of unfathomable depravity and sadism.”
The judgment comes 10 years after the trial started and 16 years since the first arrest. The case is considered the longest, largest and probably the most expensive in the history of international justice trials. A total of 189 witnesses were presented and approximately 13,000 pages submitted into evidence, creating more than 125,000 pages of transcript.
Nyiramasuhuko, Ntahobali and Ndayambaje were convicted alongside three other accused, Sylvain Nsabimana and Alphonse Nteziryayo, both former governors of Butare prefecture, and Joseph Kanyabashi, the ex-Mayor of Ngoma Commune.
Nsabimana was sentenced to 25 years for failing to discharge his legal duty. Nteziryayo was sentenced to 30 years for direct and public incitement to commit genocide during two speeches he delivered. Kanyabashi was sentenced to 35 years for genocide.
While Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman to have been convicted by the ICTR, other women have been convicted by other courts in connection with the genocide. A Roman Catholic nun was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a tradition Rwandan court and two other Catholic nuns were convicted by a Belgian court.
Between April and mid-June 1994, hundreds of Tutsis were rounded up by militia members in Butare. Many were victims of assault and rape. The genocide was triggered by the April 6, 1994 shooting down of a plane carrying Rwanda’s Hutu president.
In a statement, the United States hailed the judgments: “This ruling is an important step in providing justice and accountability for the Rwandan people and the international community,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. “This conviction is a significant milestone because it demonstrates that rape is a crime of violence and it can be used as a tool of war by both men and women.”
For more information, please see:
AFP – US hails Rwanda genocide verdict – 26 June 2011
All Africa – Rwanda: Woman Sentenced to Life for Genocide – 24 June 2011
BBC News – Profile: Female Rwandan killer Pauline Nyiramasuhuko – 24 June 2011
CNN – Ex-Rwanda minister jailed for life on genocide and rape counts – 24 June 2011
