Equipo Nizkor - Sweden: The Court of Appeal has not changed the life sentence in the Rwanda case.

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19Jun14

The Court of Appeal has not changed the life sentence in the Rwanda case

Today the Court of Appeal issued its judgment in the 'Rwanda case'. The Court of Appeal also sentences the accused man to life imprisonment for genocide and a crime under international law.
A Swedish citizen, who is now 55 years, was prosecuted and sentenced in the City Court to life imprisonment for genocide and a gross crime under international law. The prosecution concerned events in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. According to the City Court the accused played a leading role at a lower level and participated, in collaboration with others, in murder, attempted murder, instigation of murder and kidnapping. The City Court also found that the defendant was personally guilty of attempted murder because he shot at people using an automatic weapon during several massacres.
The City Court's judgment was appealed to the Court of Appeal, which has now issued its judgment. The Court of Appeal concludes, like the City Court, that the man shall be convicted of genocide and a crime under international law.
During the trial a large number of people have identified the accused man as guilty of various crimes during the genocide, including murder and attempted murder. In both the City Court and the Court of Appeal a large part of the case has been about whether the man has been identified wrongly.
The man has himself asserted that there may be political reasons behind the accusations against him and that the identifications are based on a conspiracy. The Court of Appeal has examined whether there is reason to suspect anything of the kind, but considers, like the City Court, that the people who have identified the man are telling the truth. These people are describing what they remember and consider that they have experienced.
Since the case deals with events that took place 20 years ago, there is some risk that the people who identify the man have misremembered. The Court of Appeal has concluded that the identifications are so certain and reliable despite the long time that has passed that it has been established that it is the accused man who is being identified. However, the man is accused of crimes on several different occasions during the genocide and with regard to one of the events the Court of Appeal considers that there is uncertainty in the identifications made and this part of the prosecution is therefore dismissed.
The Court of Appeal also sets the sentence for the man at life imprisonment.
Some 20 injured parties have also requested damages from the accused. The City Court found that damages could not be awarded since damages had been sought under Swedish law. It was held that Rwandan law was applicable to the matter of damages instead. In the Court of Appeal the injured parties have also sought damages under Rwandan law. According to the Court of Appeal it is not possible to award damages under Rwandan law either since no investigation about the content of Rwandan tort law has been submitted in the case. The conclusion in the Court of Appeal is, again, that no damages are awarded.
The trial of the man who has now been convicted is the first of its kind in a Swedish court. It is the first time that a person in Sweden has been convicted of genocide. The hearing in the Court of Appeal started in September 2013 and was only concluded at the end of May 2014 after more than 70 days in court. During the trial the Court of Appeal visited Rwanda to view various crime scenes.
[Contacts]
To order the documents in the case, mail svea.avd8@dom.se
[Source: Press Release, Svea Court of Appeal, 19 June 2014]

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This document has been published on 05Feb18 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.