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Rwandan Journalists Sentenced For Role in Genocide

HeadlineDec 04, 2003

In Tanzania, an international court has convicted three Rwandan journalists of genocide for encouraging the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in Rwanda. One newspaper urged citizens to exterminate the “cockroach Tutsis.” A radio station featured Djs who would recite the phrase “go to work the graves are not yet full” over the airwaves. It is estimated that Rwanda’s Hutu majority killed about 800,000 Tutsis between April and July of 1994. Two of the journalists were sentenced to life terms. Another was sentenced to 35 years. The Washington-based lawyer John Floyd who defended one of the journalists said the verdict was unfair and a setback for freedom of the press. The court ruled “The power of the media to create and destroy human values comes with great responsibility. Those who control the media are accountable for its consequences.”

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