35 Get Life in Prison for Genocide Roles

A court convicted 35 people of genocide and sentenced them to life in prison in the largest mass trial yet stemming from the 1994 slaughter, Radio Rwanda said. The defendants were among a group of 51 brought to trial in March as part of the government’s effort to speed up proceedings for 130,000 people packed into Rwandan jails and accused of a variety of genocide-related crimes. On Friday, the court convicted 38 of the defendants, sentencing 35 of them to life and three to lesser terms. Nine were acquitted; four died in prison.