ARUSHA, Tanzania (AFP) — A former magistrate who later worked as a defence investigator at the war crimes tribunal for the Rwanda genocide was on Wednesday jailed for life by the court.
Simeon Nshamihigo, 48, was arrested in 2001 at the International Criminal Court for Rwanda (ICTR) based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha where he worked under a false name until being recognised by a witness.
He was subsequently convicted of offences including murder and genocide.
"The chamber sentences Simeon Nshamihigo to life imprisonment," said presiding judge Dennis Byron.
"He was in a prominent public position of trust; yet, he exhibited zeal in the perpetration of these grave crimes. He promoted an environment of impunity for mass atrocity," Byron added.
Three judges at the tribunal ruled that Nshamihigo, a Hutu, had incited, ordered, helped and encouraged the murder of Tutsis in Cyangugu in southwest Rwanda in order to "destroy all or part" of the ethnic group.
His arrest came at a time when the Rwandan government had accused the tribunal of employing a number of genocide suspects, particularly in defence roles.
Around 800,000 people, most from the Tutsi minority, were killed in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
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