Rwandan Genocide Mastermind Sentenced To Life

A former top Rwandan army official has been sentenced to life in prison for being one of the masterminds of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Thursday found Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, 67, guilty of having commandeered government troops and the Hutu Interahamwe militia in the massacre of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The Tanzania-based UN Court also found that Bagosora, who was cabinet director in the Defense Ministry, took control of the Rwandan government’s military and political affairs after President Juvenal Habyarimana died when his plane was downed. [PE]