This case summary is part of a collection of summaries describing the cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). See the Online Resource Hub pages on the ICTR and International Criminal Law, and table of ICTR case summaries for additional information.
Trial Judgement: 14 December 1998; Appeal Judgment: 14 February 2000
Omar Serushago, the former head of the Interahamwe militia in Gisenyi Prefecture, stood trial for his role in the militia’s massacre of civilians in district of Gisenyi between April and July 1994. The prosecution charged Serushago with direct and superior responsibility for genocide and crimes against humanity for acts of extermination, murder, torture, and rape. Serushago plead guilty to all charges except the charge of rape as a crime against humanity. As part of the plea agreement, the Trial Chamber granted the prosecution leave to amend the complaint to drop the charge of crime against humanity for acts of rape, and in 1998, the Trial Chamber sentenced Serushago to 15 years imprisonment for the four counts on which Serushago pled guilty. In 2000, the Appeals Chamber rejected Serushago’s appeal against the length of his sentence, upholding the Trial Chamber’s sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.