Theoneste Bagosora has been found guilty of masterminding the Rwandan genocide.
It found Theoneste Bagosora, 67, a colonel in the Rwandan army, guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The tribunal also convicted two other men -- Major Aloys Ntabakuze and Lieutenant Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva -- of the same crimes. The men were sentenced to life in prison.
The tribunal acquitted General Gratien Kabiligi, the former head of military operations, and ordered his immediate release.
Bagosora, a colonel in the Rwandan army, was accused of ordering Hutu militia to slaughter rival Tutsis during a 100-day spree of violence in 1994 which left an estimated 800,000 dead. Prosecutors said he was a key figure in crafting the plan.
Living Among Dead
In 1994 in the village of Nyarubuye, Rwanda, the Hutu majority went on a killing spree in the local church, slaughtering neighbours and friends.
Flora Mukampore lost 17 members of her family and saw her neighbour doing the killing. This is her story.
We thought that no one would dare come to attack us at the church because the church is a holy place . When the killers arrived our men were ready to fight, even though they didn't have any weapons, so they died standing. You would not think that they were all going to get killed because they were very many. We did not think they would get killed.
All the people they were cutting fell on me because I was near the door. I had too much hair but it all was washed with blood.
They thought I was dead.
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At some point God helped me and made me unconscious because if I wasn't, there is a possibility that I would have committed suicide.
source : CNN.COM
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