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: 2 September 1998; Appeal Judgement: 1 June 2001
The first case under an international tribunal to ever convict someone of genocide as defined under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and moreover, the first case to hold that rape and sexual assault may constitute acts of genocide, concerned Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former Bourgmestre (mayor) of Taba Commune, who stood trial for allowing, promoting, and ordering the killing and rape of individuals seeking refuge at Taba Commune offices. The prosecution charged Akayesu with direct and superior responsibility for genocide; incitement to genocide; crimes against humanity for acts of extermination, murder, torture, rape, and other inhumane acts; and war crimes for acts of violence to life and outrages upon dignity.
In 1998, an ICTR Trial Chamber found Akayesu guilty of genocide; incitement to commit genocide; and crimes against humanity for acts of extermination, murder, torture, rape, and other inhumane acts; but the Trial Chamber found Akayesu not guilty of complicity in genocide and war crimes. The Trial Court sentenced Akayesu to life imprisonment. In 2001, the ICTR Appeals Chamber rejected Akayesu’s appeal and affirmed his life sentence.