Rwanda welcomes imprisonment of Genocide suspect in Sweden

The decision by the Stockholm District Court in Sweden to hand life imprisonment to a Rwandan national after convicting him of masterminding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is an indication that fugitives will not hide forever. This was said by the Executive Secretary for the National Commission for the Fight against the Genocide (CNLG), Dr Jean Damascene Bizimana, following the conviction of Claver Berinkindi, a Genocide suspect who had become a naturalised citizen of the Nordic country. Berinkindi, 61, was accused of organising and involvement in attacks that targeted Tutsi in Nkuri and Nyamiyaga communes in former Butare Prefecture, currently in Southern Province. He was a very influential businessman and, during the Genocide, Berinkindi, who was a member of Interahamwe militia, organised and supervised attacks on Tutsi in the area killing them by their thousands. His involvement include the decisive attack on Nyamure Hill where thousands of Tutsi had sought refuge. “His sentencing shows that more nations are committed to try fugitives who thought they had found haven; it is, however, more special for Berinkindi as for him he had acquired Swedish nationality which would complicate the trial but the Swedish court tried and convicted him after conducting thorough investigations in Rwanda,” said Bizimana. “It also shows that the fact that this happens after 20 years, nations understand the seriousness of genocide crimes other than beliefs by some that we will get discouraged to follow up as time goes by,” he added. The Swedish Court also awarded reparations for 15 Genocide victims ranging from Rwf3 million to Rwf10 million. According to the Swedish law, in case the convict is indigent and cannot pay the reparations awarded by court, the money is drawn by government from a special fund for unclaimed assets. Bizimana said this is the first time a foreign jurisdiction had awarded damages to the victims of the Genocide and urged other jurisdictions to emulate the court’s decision. “Other courts try Genocide perpetrators and punish them but no clear commitment to award reparations to the victims, I think other courts should emulate the Swedish court’s decision,” he said. Homegrown justice system, the Gacaca courts, had earlier tried Berinkindi in absentia and handed him 30 years in jail and Bizimana says that this vindicates the Gacaca system that some have criticised for being unprofessional, since the convict will now have to serve a heavier sentence. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Rwanda welcomes imprisonment of Genocide suspect in Sweden