Canadian court gives longest possible sentence in historic Rwanda war crimes case

MONTREAL — A Canadian judge has imposed the toughest sentence possible on a man convicted of committing atrocities during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, described as the worst possible crime a human being can commit.

In a historic case, Desire Munyaneza was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Andre Denis handed down the sentence in a case international legal observers followed closely because of the implications it could have on similar prosecutions both here and abroad.

He is the first person convicted under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, enacted in 2000.

Munyaneza’s crimes included raping women, participating in the slaughter of hundreds inside a church, and using sticks to beat children tied in sacks.

“The accused, an educated man from a privileged background, chose to kill, rape and pillage in the name of his ethnic group’s supremacy,” Denis wrote in his judgment.

“The sentence I am imposing is severe because the law considers the crimes committed by the accused to be the worst in existence.

“History has shown that what happened there (in Rwanda) can happen anywhere in the world, and that nobody is immune to such a tragedy.”

With time already served since his arrest, the 42-year-old man will only become eligible for parole in 2030.

The defence is appealing the verdict, but a hearing before the Quebec Court of Appeal isn’t likely until next year and both sides agree the case will ultimately wind up before the Supreme Court of Canada.

“We’ve got what we believe to be a pretty strong appeal,” defence lawyer Richard Perras said outside the courtroom.

A life sentence was anticipated but the lawyers for the 42-year-old father of two had asked for leniency, saying the acts were not premeditated so parole eligibility should have come after 20 years.

But Denis ruled that the acts were clearly premeditated, despite the accused’s constant denials.

Denis said as much when Munyaneza was found guilty last May on seven charges related to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus massacred between April and July of 1994.

About 800,000 people were murdered.

Munyaneza, the son of a wealthy businessman from the Butare area, was arrested by the RCMP at his Toronto-area home in 2005 after a lengthy investigation.

He had arrived in Toronto in 1997 seeking refugee status but his claim was rejected.

The nearly two-year trial involved hearings in Canada, Europe and Africa, with 66 witnesses often heard behind closed doors. Human rights advocates and genocide experts such as former Canadian general Romeo Dallaire also testified.

The entire endeavour was quite costly and observers hope that the government will continue to support other cases.

“I think the will is there among the independent observers of this kind of trial,” said Bruce Broomhall, a law professor at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal who followed the trial closely.

“I hope concerned parliamentarians will put the question to the government and we’ll see an increase in the budget for investigations and prosecutions in the future.”

Crown prosecutor Pascale Ledoux said Thursday that she was satisfied with the end result.

“It underlies the importance of the fight against crimes against humanity and the application of law – no matter where those (accused) are,” she said.

As he pronounced his sentence, Denis also addressed genocide naysayers.

“Denying that a genocide occurred is killing the victims a second time,” Denis said, listing off 20th century atrocities in Namibia, Armenia, Cambodia, the Balkans and Nazi Europe.

“So it must be said and repeated: there is no worse crime than genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which are still occurring today.”

A Montreal Rwandan genocide survivor support group that first turned the RCMP’s attention toward Munyaneza applauded the sentence and said it would continue its efforts to pursue other criminals.

“We’re going to keep working for justice for the survivors,” Jean-Paul Nylinkwaya said.