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 Judgment: 25 February 2010; Appeal Judgment: 28 September 2011
Ephrem Setako, the former head of the division of legal affairs in the Ministry of Defense, stood trial for his role in the killings of several Tutsis at Mukamira military camp in Ruhengeri Prefecture. The prosecution charged Setako with direct and superior responsibility for genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity for acts of murder and extermination, and war crimes for acts of violence to life and pillage.
In 2010, and ICTR Trial Chamber convicted Setako of genocide, extermination as a crime against humanity, and war crimes for acts of violence to life after finding that Setako ordered the killing of around 50 Tutsis at Mukamira military camp between April and May 1994. In 2011, the ICTR Appeals Chamber dismissed Setako’s appeal in its entirety and affirmed his convictions. The Appeals Chamber affirmed Setako’s sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment.