International

Rwanda genocide: Sweden sentences citizen to life imprisonment

Published

8 years ago

May 16, 2016

Rwanda genocide: Sweden sentences man to life imprisonment

A Swedish citizen originally from Rwanda, who goes by the name of Claver Berinkindi has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of genocide and gross crime under international law consisting of murder, attempted murder and kidnapping.

61-year-old Berinkindi was sentenced by a Stockholm District Court on Monday for participating in genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the second such case brought by the Nordic country over crimes during the conflict.

The Rwandan genocide, known officially as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a genocide and mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government.

An estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed during the 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, constituting as many as 70% of the Tutsi and 20% of Rwanda’s total population.

The genocide was planned by members of the core political elite, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government.

Perpetrators came from the ranks of the Rwandan army, the Gendarmerie, government-backed militias including the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi, as well as countless ordinary civilians.

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