The Court of Appeal in northern Rwanda's Ruhengeri...

The Court of Appeal in northern Rwanda's Ruhengeri prefecture acquitted two priests who were facing death penalties on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. Jean-Francois Emmanuel Kayiranga and Edward Nuriye, had been accused of having played a key role in the destruction of a church in Nyangi, in Kibuye prefecture, and the killing of more than 2,000 people who had taken refuge in the church in April 1994. Father Nturiye was also accused of colluding with the murderers of 60 people who had taken refuge in a small seminary in Nyundo where he was the rector. The Kibuye court of first instance had found them guilty and condemned them to death on April 17, 1998. However, the specialised chamber of the Court of Appeal in Ruhengeri acquitted them, basing its decision on the fact that the judgment by the Kibuye court of first instance was not based on "sufficient evidence".