Adventist pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana and his son, Dr. Gérard, were both convicted of genocide today in a courtroom of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for their role in the 1994 massacre.

Pastor Elizaphan, president of the West Rwanda Association of Seventh-day Adventists during the genocide that swept the country, was convicted of aiding and abetting in the genocide and has been sentenced to ten years in prison, with credit for the four years he has already served.

Dr. Gérard, a medical doctor at the Mugonero Adventist hospital during the genocide, was found guilty both of genocide and crimes against humanity (murder). He was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, with credit for the six years he has already served.

The court found that the pastor had conveyed attackers in his truck to the Adventist church at Mugonero, on the western edge of Rwanda, on Sabbath morning, April 16, 1994. Those attackers, with others, proceeded to kill thousands of people inside the church. However, the court said that it was not clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the two men were involved personally in the attack.

The court also found that the pastor had driven attackers to other churches and locations where they proceeded to kill Tutsi refugees.

The court found Dr. Gérard guilty of personally shooting and killing two different people and taking part in attacks throughout the area during the following weeks.

This judgment marks the first time a clergyman has been convicted in an international court of justice. This is the ninth verdict reached by the tribunal in Arusha. As of today, ten people have been found guilty of genocide in Rwanda and one acquitted.

The unanimous decision of the three judges hearing the case was delivered by presiding judge Erik Møse of Norway to a full courtroom and a packed gallery with standing room only. At least 100 journalists, court employees, and interested observers crowded in to hear Judge Møse read a 12-page summary of the much longer judgment.

Jerome Ntakirutimana, son of Elizaphan and brother to Gérard, traveled from Texas to hear the verdict. "The judgment is harsh—very harsh," he said afterward, shaking his head and wiping sweat from his forehead. "I don’t understand how they decide about the evidence. For me, I know they didn’t do it. . . He [Elizaphan] won’t make it in prison. He will die."

In the verdict, the judges noted that there was insufficient evidence to convict the two Ntakirutimanas on many of the allegations against them. They were found not guilty of complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity (extermination), crimes against humanity (other humane acts), and serious violation of the Geneva Conventions.

During the reading of the judgment, the elder Ntakirutimana sat unmoving, head down, hands folded in his lap. He wore a camel-colored coat over his suit, despite the Tanzanian heat. When the judge asked the accused to rise, a guard had to motion the request to him and then physically help him up. He had not put on the provided headphones so that he could have simultaneous translation of the English verdict into Kinyarwandan. He seemed to be totally unaware of the proceedings. When he was asked to sit down, the guard pushed gently on his shoulder until he realized he was supposed to be seated. Then the elderly pastor had to grab onto the guard’s waist as he lowered himself back into his chair.

Dr. Gérard, on the other hand, listened intently to the proceedings. When Judge Møse said: "The Chamber finds beyond a reasonable doubt that Gérard Ntakirtuimana killed Charles Ukobizaba by shooting him from a short distance in the chest," Dr. Gérard pursed his lips, shook his head and visibly worked to restrain his emotion.

The defense team, including former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, for the pastor, and, David Jacobs for Dr. Gérard, has promised to appeal the judgment. "This is certainly not what we hoped for," Clark said. "I am absolutely convinced of their innocence and their struggle—within limits—to prevent violence." Clark noted that the court had accepted that both Ntakirutimanas were fundamentally good men, with no record of racial bias against Tutsis. "The court made no effort to suggest how it was possible that such people would then participate in a genocide the way the court has claimed. It is an almost irrational connection," Clark said.

Pastor Elizaphan and Dr. Gérard will remain in the Arusha detention facility until any appeal has been heard. If the guilty verdict is upheld, they will serve out the remainder of their sentences in Mali, Benin, Swaziland, or possibly France or Italy, which are currently in negotiations with the ICTR.

Charles Adeogun-Phillips, lead prosecutor for the case, says the verdict turned out the way he expected. "The not guilty counts are subsumed by the conviction of genocide," he said. "They were convicted of the ultimate crime." Adeogun-Phillips emphasized the point that he made during the trial: the pastor could have done something in the position of authority that he had in the area, but he didn’t. "Ommission, failure to act. That has been our case," he said. "He stood by and turned a blind eye when he could have helped those people. The evidence suggests that nothing happened while he was still there. If he had stayed perhaps nothing would have happened."

Adeogun-Phillips also believes that the verdict is "an indictment of the Adventist movement," both because of what happened at Mugonero where Adventists killed Adventists and because of the lack of official response of the church. "There has been no official acknowledgement and no memorial. That is regrettable," he said.

On the same day the prosecutor made his statement, the Church made one as well. It said, "Adventist world church leaders and the church in Rwanda have made reconciliation both within the general community and among church membership one of their highest post-civil war priorities. In March 1998, a series of major ’reconciliation conferences’ were sponsored by the Adventist Church, and were aimed at promoting frank discussions and rebuilding trust between rival tribes. Adventist minister Esdras Mpyisi, once advisor to the former king of Rwanda, led out in the talks in which representatives from warring factions determined to work together toward mutual tolerance and understanding."

The Church’s news release also offered an apology for the actions of some of its members. "’We acknowledge with sadness that some of our church members turned against their fellow members and their neighbors. We are saddened that the accused did not act in harmony with the principles of their church. We offer an apology," said Ray Dabrowski, communication director at the Adventist world church headquarters.

"We are saddened by the outcome of this trial," Dabrowski continued. "The great complexity of this case, the vast quantities of often-conflicting evidence, and the continuing bitterness of many who have been caught up in this tragedy, had made the tribunal’s task a difficult one. As a church, we extend our deepest sympathies to all those whose lives have been shattered by this terrible experience. . . Since allegations against the Ntakirutimanas first surfaced, Adventist officials have urged a resolution of the charges through appropriate legal forums. The church has cooperated fully with both the United Nations tribunal and with defense lawyers for Ntakirutimana and his son."

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has some 350,000 members in Rwanda and operates three schools, one hospital, and nine clinics around the country. An estimated 10,000 Adventist Church members lost their lives in the inter-tribal conflict of 1994.

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