Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have requested the Tanzania-based UN court to sentence Juvenal Rugambarara to not less than 12 years in prison. The tribunal’s prosecution told court that Rugambara deserves to pay gravely for his other crimes despite entering a guilty plea. On July 13, Rugambara, who is a former bourgmeistre of the former Bicumbi commune (district) pleaded guilty to a single count of extermination as a crime against humanity before the tribunal. The deal saw the prosecution dropping eight out of the initial nine charges, maintaining only the count of extermination, which he subsequently pleaded guilty to. The prosecution revised the charge sheet and dropped the charges of Genocide, conspiracy to commit Genocide, direct and public incitement to commit Genocide, torture, rape and two counts of serious violations. The move was criticized by the Rwandan government with the Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama warning the tribunal on irrational plea-bargains. He said at the time: “Plea-bargain happens all over the world and is allowed in all open criminal cases, but what is unacceptable is to abuse it.” Karugarama said that the arrangement should be given value and conducted in a balanced way. “For one to benefit from such a deal, they must have apologised, confessed and revealed important information which can assist the Prosecution in handling other cases,” he said. The tribunal said the date for the sentence would be announced later.Ends
