Rwanda: Prosecution Seeks 25 Year Sentence for Six FDLR Suspects

14 February 2023
The New Times (Kigali)
By Aurore Teta Ufitiwabo

The prosecution is seeking a 25-year-jail term for six former combatants of the FDLR for allegedly conspiring against the government and creating an illegal armed group as well as joining an illegal armed group.

The suspects are Leopold Mujyambere alias Musenyeri, Joseph Habyarimana Joseph alias Mchebo Sophoni, Marc Habimana, Felicien Ruzindana, Emmanuel Habimana, and Emilie Mpakaniye.

ALSO READ: DR Congo military captures another top FDLR commander

The hearing took place on Tuesday, February 13 in the High Court Chamber for International Crimes (HCCIC).

ALSO READ: Prosecutors seek life imprisonment for former FDLR top officials Nkaka and Nsekanabo

During the trial, the Prosecution explained that the defendants joined the PALIR-ALIR group which later became FDLR-FOCA voluntarily and some of them are responsible for attacks on Rwanda.

ALSO READ: FDLR publicist, top spy arrested in DR Congo

However, in their defense, they denied all crimes and requested to be taken to the Mutobo center where former FDLR combatants are rehabilitated.

The prosecution, on the other hand, told the court that people who are taken to Mutobo were those ones who return voluntarily to the country which was not the case for the accused since they were apprehended in the DR Congo forests.

ALSO READ: FDLR publicist, top spy arrested in DR Congo

The defendants have been on trial since last year.

Read the original article on New Times.

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