RWANDA: Appeals Court adds 10 years to ex-mayor 's prison term

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47217&SelectRegion=Great_Lakes&SelectCountry=RWANDA

ARUSHA, 20 May 2005 (IRIN) - The Appeals Court of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda dismissed on Friday an appeal by a former Rwandan mayor, Laurent Semanza, and instead increased his sentence from 25 years to 35 years in prison.
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Semanza, who was arrested in March 1996 in Cameroon, was the president of Greater Kigali branch of a pro-Hutu political party, the MRND, and was once a member of the party's Central Committee during the genocide. "This sentencing will not serve to bring reconciliation in Rwanda," Charles Taku, Semanza's lawyer, said after the ruling.

It could not be immediately established in which country Semanza would serve his sentence. Six countries - Benin, Swaziland, Italy, France, Mali and Sweden - have signed agreements with the tribunal to allow the convicts serve their sentences in their prisons. Already, six convicts, including former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda, are serving their sentence in Mali.

The tribunal has rendered 25 judgements; 22 convictions and three acquittals, since its establishment by the UN Security Council in 1994.