Learn from the mistakes of others

Friday, June 02, 2006
Rwanda radio broadcaster sentenced to six years for inciting genocide
Joshua Pantesco at 1:54 PM ET

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] on Friday sentenced Joseph Serugendo [case materials] to six years in prison [press release] for direct and public incitement to commit genocide and persecution as a crime against humanity under a plea agreement where the ICTR dropped the more serious charges of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and complicity to commit genocide in exchange for Serugendo's guilty plea. Serugendo is the former technical director of a Rwandan radio station that promoted the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive], and admitted to the ICTR that he provided technical assistance and moral support to broadcast anti-Tutsi messages over the airwaves.

The tribunal considered Serugendo's terminal illness and his cooperation with the tribunal in the decision to limit his sentence to only six years in prison. Serugendo was arrested in September 2005 and initially pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the charges.

For more, http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1654389.htm.
Also UN News Centre has additional coverage.

Propaganda. Sometimes it done not be good. And everyone thinks so. Mostly.


Serugendo is not the first of the ICTR incitement convictees, nor the most interesting. He wasn't arrested until September 2005. More than a decade after the events for which he has been convicted. He brings the total of completed trials at the ICTR to 28.

War Crimes is a messy business - doubly so when you're trying to prosecute.

Politics and procedure.