French court sentences two Rwandan mayors for roles in genocide

A French court has sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for playing leading roles in the mass killing of ethnic Tutsis during the first days of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

A Paris jury has found Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity over the massacre of some 2,000 Tutsis who had sought refuge in a church in the eastern town of Kabarondo.

The prosecutor describes the two men as “monsters,” saying they were essential pieces in the local genocidal machine.

Dozens of survivors, relatives and witnesses, many of whom traveled from Rwanda, testified during the two-month trial. One survivor told the court she lost her seven children in the slaughter.

Both defendants denied any involvement in the murders.

The decision came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Rwanda, visiting a memorial to the genocide and comparing it to the Holocaust.

“We are deeply moved by this memorial to the victims of one of history’s greatest crimes and reminded of the haunting similarities to the genocide of our own people,” he and his wife, Sara, wrote in the visitors’ book.

He called genocide “a unique bond that neither one of our peoples will prefer to have” but said both countries have persevered to become “successful states and models for partners.”

— AP