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| |  | | Tharcisse Muvunyi | | | context : | Rwanda  | | judgement place : | ICTR (Rwanda) | | status : | On trial | | particulars : | Sentenced on 12 September 2006 to 25 years in prison by the ICTR Trial Chamber; sentence anulled by the Appeals Chamber on 29 August 2008; retrial ordered with regards to one count of the indictment | | position : | Commandant in the School for Non-Commissioned Officers (ESO) |
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| | | | Muvunyi had been living since 1998 in London, Great Britain, under the benefit of a grant of temporary asylum. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was informed of his presence there by the British newspaper the “Sunday Times”, which reported that he was living from social security in London, with his family.
The British police arrested Tharcisse Muvunyi on 5 February 2000 in London on the basis of an international arrest warrant sent the previous day to the British authorities.
After lodging an appeal against his extradition, which was turned down by the British judiciary, he was transferred to Arusha on 30 October 2000.
Tharcisse Muvunyi pleaded not guilty on his initial court appearance on 8 November 2000, before the ICTR.
The prosecution indicted him on 5 counts:
1. Genocide (Art. 2 § 3 lit. a ICTR Statute);
2. Alternatively, complicity in genocide (Art. 2 § 3 lit. c ICTR Statute);
3. Direct and public incitement to commit genocide (Art. 2 § 3 lit. c ICTR Statute);
4. Rape as a crime against humanity (Art. 3 lit. g ICTR Statute);
5. Other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity (Art. 3 lit. i ICTR Statute).
The trial began before the Second Trial Chamber of the ICTR on 28 February 2005.
On 12 September 2006, Muvunyi was declared guilty, inter alia, of incitement to genocide. The Trial Chamber found that Muvunyi had been present on at least two places in the Southern Butare Prefecture in 1994 where he had called upon hutu civilians to kill the Tutsi.
Muvunyi was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.
Prosecution and Defence appealed the decision. During the Appeals hearing in March 2008, the Prosecutor requested the sentence to be changed to life imprisonment.
Muvunyi on the other hand asked to be acquitted.
On 29 August 2008, the Appeals Chamber annulled the sentence issued by the Trial Chamber and ordered a retrial with regards to one count in the indictment, namely "direct and public incitement to committ genocide" which concerns his speech during the genocide at the convention centre of Gikore in the Butare region.
This decision is the first of its kind in the ICTR'S history.
The Appeals Chamber has ordered for Muvunyi to remain in custody while awaiting his retrial. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | nationality : | | | Rwanda | | | date of birth : | | | 19.08.1953 | | | last time seen : | | | Arusha (Tanzania) | | | period of charges : | | | 06.04.1994 - 30.06.1994 | | | judgement period : | | | 28.02.2005 | | | charges : | | | Crimes against humanity
Genocide | | | profile last modified : | | | 30.08.2008 |
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