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Businessman Found Guilty for Rwandan Massacre


Gaspard Kanyarukiga, former Rwandan businessman, has been found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in destroying a church where 2,000 Tutsis were massacred during Rwanda's 1994 genocide (file photo)
Gaspard Kanyarukiga, former Rwandan businessman, has been found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in destroying a church where 2,000 Tutsis were massacred during Rwanda's 1994 genocide (file photo)

A Rwandan businessman has been found guilty for his role in destroying a church where 2,000 Tutsis had sought shelter during Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on Monday sentenced Gaspard Kanyarukiga to 30 years in prison. It was not immediately clear if he will appeal.

Prosecutors argued during his trial that Kanyarukiga ordered the bulldozing of the church with the Tutsis inside. Kanyarukiga is the second person to be sentenced by the court in connection with the massacre at Nyange church. The church's priest was sentenced to life in prison in 2008.

Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the genocide.

The U.N. tribunal, operating out of the Tanzanian town of Arusha, was set up to prosecute those most responsible for organizing the killings.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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