Rwanda genocide suspect pleads guilty in UN court

A former Rwandan councilor has pleaded guilty at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) set up by the United Nations to crimes against humanity during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Vincent Rutaganira pleaded guilty on Wednesday at the UN court based in Arusha in northern Tanzania, according to local press reports.

The former Rwandan councilor was charged originally with counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva conventions.

He is the fourth accused to have entered plea since the creation of the court in November 1994.

The first to have entered a plea was former Rwandan prime minister Jean Kambanda, followed by journalist Georges Ruggiu and then businessman Omar Serushago.

With Vincent Rutaganira's admission to the guilty plea, the prosecution filed an oral motion to drop other charges and asked the court to hand down the accused a prison term of between six to eight years.

The court has agreed to the voluntary guilty plea from the accused and asked the court registry to set January 17 next year as the date for hearing of the sentence.

The Arusha-based UN tribunal has so far delivered 23 judgments -20 convictions and three acquittals - while there are still 25 detainees on trial and 18 others waiting for trials in the court.

Source: Xinhua