One acquittal, one conviction in 1994 trials

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has acquitted a former Rwandan mayor of genocide and sentenced a former army officer to 25 years in jail for his involvement in the 1994 killings.

The court ordered on Monday the immediate release of former Mayor Jean Mpambara, 52, from custody in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha, the tribunal's headquarters.

Reading the court's decision in the case against Mpambara, Judge Jai Ram Reddy said the prosecution had failed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, his role in the killings 12 years ago in the eastern Rwandan commune of Rukara in Kibungo Prefecture, now part of Eastern Province.

In acquitting him, Reddy said the chamber had not found credible evidence that Mpambara instigated or assisted attackers during the genocide, which the Rwandan government said caused the deaths of 937,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus.

"The chamber heard defence witnesses, some of whom were Tutsis, who said the accused publicly opposed violence," Reddy said.

He added that Mpambara's inaction on certain occasions was rather due to lack of resources or his inability to fight off the well-armed attackers.

Mpambara was arrested at a refugee camp in Kigoma, Tanzania, in 2001 and transferred to the tribunal where he was charged with genocide.

In another judgment, the tribunal sentenced Tharcisse Muvunyi, former commander of Ecole Sous-Officiers (ESO), a military academy in Butare, southern Rwanda, to 25 years for his role in the genocide. The court ruled that Muvunyi failed to use his authority to stop the killings during the genocide.

Presiding Judge Asoka de Silva said the chamber found that Muvunyi failed to prevent his soldiers from committing murderous acts. He said soldiers from the academy and militiamen attacked between 800 and 5,000 Tutsi refugees who had sought shelter in Mukura Forest some time after 21 April 1994.

"The chamber believes that due to the large number of refugees at Mukura Forest and the repeated nature of the attacks on them, the accused had reason to know of the situation," De Silva said. "He failed to do anything to prevent the attacks by his subordinates from ESO or to punish their illegal conduct."

De Silva also said the chamber had heard of roadblocks manned by soldiers from the academy, who led Tutsis aside and later killed them.

The court said six years would be deducted from Muvunyi's sentence as he had spent that time in custody. Muvunyi's lawyer, Taylor Williams, said he would appeal against the verdict.

Since its inception in late 1994, the tribunal has rendered 30 judgments, involving 26 convictions and four acquittals. Trials are continuing for another 27 suspects. The UN Security Council has given the tribunal up to 2008 to complete all cases before it.

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