UN Tribunal upholds war crimes convictions of former Rwandan tea factory director

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) today confirmed the conviction of the former director of a tea factory for genocide and crimes against humanity, and upheld his sentence of life imprisonment.

The Appeals Chamber also quashed Alfred Musema's conviction for rape as a crime against humanity on the basis of new evidence that it had heard.

In his appeal, Mr. Musema claimed that the Trial Chamber had reversed the burden of proof by requiring him to prove his innocence. The Appeals Chamber, after a detailed examination of the approach adopted by the Trial Chamber, concluded that this was not the case and that the defendant had failed to show that the Trial Chamber had committed any mistake in its assessment of his alibi defence, the ICTR said.

Mr. Musema also argued that the Trial Chamber had erred in law by convicting him of both genocide and extermination on the basis of the same facts. The Appeals Chamber ruled that the test was whether the relevant provisions of the Statute for one of the crimes included a significantly distinct "constituent element" that was absent in the other provision. In this case, it said, the criterion for a double conviction for the crimes of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity was satisfied.

Mr. Musema will serve his sentence in a State to be designated by the President of the Tribunal among those countries - Benin, Mali and Swaziland - that have agreed to receive persons convicted by the Court.