Dutch court hands life sentence to Rwandan man for 1994 genocide role

A Dutch court on Friday sentenced a 66-year-old Rwandan man to life imprisonment for his participation in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The Hague District Court found him guilty of involvement in attacks on two predominantly Tutsi communities, where homes were looted and set on fire, and of throwing a grenade into a crowd of Tutsis who had taken refuge in a soccer stadium.

In its written judgment, the court said the defendant's actions showed a "significant lack of respect for human dignity and for human life," and that only a life sentence could reflect the immense suffering inflicted on victims and their families.

The genocide in Rwanda in 1994 claimed the lives of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, orchestrated by Hutu extremists. Many of those responsible were later tried by a United Nations tribunal, which has since closed.

The defendant left Rwanda after the genocide and settled in the Netherlands, where he was arrested and prosecuted. The case was the result of a years-long investigation involving police and an investigating judge who interviewed more than 30 witnesses, most of them in Rwanda. Nine victims or their relatives attended the trial earlier this year.