## Facts

- Eliézer Niyitegeka, a former journalist and political activist, became Minister of Information in Rwanda’s Interim Government in April 1994.
- During the 1994 genocide, he used his authority and influence in Kibuye prefecture, including the Bisesero area, to support and drive attacks on Tutsi civilians.
- The Trial Chamber found he participated in the distribution of weapons on or about 10 April 1994 and was linked to a series of attacks on locations where Tutsi civilians had gathered, including attacks around mid-April and further assaults during May–June 1994.
- The Chamber found he addressed public gatherings (including meetings in stadium and administrative settings) where he urged the population to kill Tutsi civilians and praised those who participated in attacks.
- The Chamber accepted evidence tying him to particularly brutal acts, including the public mutilation of a victim in late June 1994 and the ordering or instigating of sexual violence against a woman in late June 1994.
- An amended indictment charged genocide (or complicity), conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, crimes against humanity (including murder, extermination, other inhumane acts, and rape/sexual violence), and serious violations of Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Niyitegeka committed genocide, including the specific intent to destroy the Tutsi group in whole or in part.
2. Whether he entered an agreement with others constituting conspiracy to commit genocide.
3. Whether his public statements constituted direct and public incitement to commit genocide, regardless of whether incitement resulted in specific genocidal acts.
4. Whether the charged killings, extermination, mutilation, and sexual violence satisfied the elements of crimes against humanity as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
5. Whether the same conduct constituted serious violations of Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II against persons not taking part in hostilities.
6. What modes of individual criminal responsibility applied (including ordering, instigating, and participating through provision of weapons and leadership at attacks).

## Decision

- The Trial Chamber convicted Niyitegeka of genocide.
- The Trial Chamber convicted him of conspiracy to commit genocide.
- The Trial Chamber convicted him of direct and public incitement to commit genocide.
- The Trial Chamber convicted him of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, and other inhumane acts, including rape and sexual violence.
- The Trial Chamber convicted him of serious violations of Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II (violence to life and physical integrity).
- The Trial Chamber imposed a single sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of his life.

## Legal Principles

- Genocide requires commission of a prohibited act with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected group; intent may be inferred from the pattern of conduct, targeting, and surrounding circumstances.
- Direct and public incitement to commit genocide consists of explicit calls, made publicly, urging others to commit genocide; it is punishable as an inchoate offense even if genocide is not shown to have resulted from the incitement.
- Crimes against humanity require underlying prohibited acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population on discriminatory grounds; leadership-level conduct and public exhortations can establish participation and intent.
- Serious violations of Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II criminalize violence to life and physical integrity of persons not taking part in hostilities in an internal armed conflict.
- Individual criminal responsibility attaches to those who order, instigate, or otherwise participate in crimes, including by supplying weapons, supervising attacks, or using authority to mobilize perpetrators; multiple modes of liability may apply to the same course of conduct.
- In sentencing, gravity, scale, abuse of official authority, and particular cruelty are aggravating considerations that can justify life imprisonment, with any mitigation outweighed by the multiplicity and seriousness of crimes.

## Conclusion

The Trial Chamber found that Niyitegeka used ministerial authority and public influence to arm, direct, and encourage attacks on Tutsi civilians in Kibuye prefecture, proving genocidal intent and liability for genocide, conspiracy, incitement, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and it imposed life imprisonment based on the extreme gravity and leadership nature of the offenses.


Prosecutor v. Niyitegeka, Case No. ICTR-96-14-T (Int’l Crim. Trib. for Rwanda May 16, 2003)