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Rwanda tribunal to issue verdict Rwandan 'kingpin' awaits verdict
(40 minutes later)
An international tribunal is due to issue its verdict on the man accused of masterminding Rwanda's 1994 genocide.An international tribunal is due to issue its verdict on the man accused of masterminding Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Theoneste Bagosora is charged with leading a committee of Hutu extremists that plotted the massacre of Tutsi tribesmen and moderate Hutus.Theoneste Bagosora is charged with leading a committee of Hutu extremists that plotted the massacre of Tutsi tribesmen and moderate Hutus.
Mr Bagosora, who was cabinet director in Rwanda's defence ministry at the time, pleaded not guilty. Mr Bagosora, a colonel who was cabinet director in Rwanda's defence ministry at the time, pleaded not guilty.
Rwanda's genocide left more than 800,000 people dead within the space of just 100 days.Rwanda's genocide left more than 800,000 people dead within the space of just 100 days.
According to the indictment at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Mr Bagosora and three former senior military officers all conspired to "work out a plan with intent to exterminate the civilian Tutsi population and eliminate members of the opposition". According to the indictment at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in Tanzania, Mr Bagosora and three former senior military officers all conspired to "work out a plan with intent to exterminate the civilian Tutsi population and eliminate members of the opposition".
Tools of genocide
Prosecutors at the tribunal, which is being held in Arusha, Tanzania, say the group began their planning as far back as 1990.
RWANDA'S 1994 GENOCIDE 6 April: Rwandan Hutu President Habyarimana killed when plane shot downApril-July: An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus killedJuly: Tutsi-led rebel movement RPF captures Rwanda's capital KigaliJuly: Two million Hutus flee to Zaire, now the DRC Rwanda's 100 days of genocide
The following year, they helped draft a document circulated within the army, that described Tutsis as "the principal enemy".
Mr Bagosora, 67, is also allegedly responsible for organising the Interahamwe - the Hutu self-defence units that ultimately led the killings.
He is also charged with distributing the arms and machetes that became the chief tools of the genocide.
Mr Bagosora's lawyer has challenged the very basis for the case, arguing prosecutors failed to prove the slaughter was organised and therefore failed to prove that it met the legal definition of "genocide".
If he is found guilty, it will be the first time the Rwanda tribunal has convicted anyone of actually organising the killings.If he is found guilty, it will be the first time the Rwanda tribunal has convicted anyone of actually organising the killings.
'Distributed arms'
Mr Bagosora, 67, has been in custody since 1996, when he was arrested in Cameroon.
He faces 11 charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecution says he played a key role in plotting to exterminate the Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and that he also set up the Interahamwe - gangs of Hutu extremists who carried out much of the slaughter.
RWANDA'S 1994 GENOCIDE 6 April: Rwandan Hutu President Habyarimana killed when plane shot downApril-July: An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus killedJuly: Tutsi-led rebel movement RPF captures Rwanda's capital KigaliJuly: Two million Hutus flee to Zaire, now the DRC Rwanda's 100 days of genocide Prosecutors say Mr Bagosora assumed control of military and political affairs in Rwanda when President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down in 1994 - the catalyst for the genocide.
He is said to have distributed the arms and machetes that became the chief tools of the genocide.
The indictment alleges that he set out to "prepare the apocalypse" as far back as 1990.
The following year, Mr Bagosora helped draft a document circulated within the army that described Tutsis as "the principal enemy".
Canadian General Romeo Dallaire, head of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda at the time, described Mr Bagosora as the "kingpin" behind the genocide and said the colonel had threatened to kill him with a pistol.
His defence says there is no hard evidence to link him to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Rwandans.
Mr Bagosora's lawyer has also challenged the basis for the case, arguing that prosecutors failed to prove that the slaughter was organised and therefore failed to prove that it met the legal definition of "genocide".
The trial, which began in 2002, was expected to last two years.
A verdict is also expected in the case Protais Zigiranyirazo, 57, who faces five genocide-related charges.
Mr Zigiranyirazo is accused of ordering Hutus to kill 48 people in two incidents. He denies the charges.