Prosecutor v. Kalimanzira

Case Name: 
Prosecutor v. Kalimanzira
Document: 
ICTR-05-88-A (Appeals Chamber Judgement)
Decision Date: 
October 20, 2010
Key Facts: 

Appellant was the Ministry of Interior’s second most senior official during the alleged genocide of April 1994. Among other charges, the Trial Chamber concluded that Kalimanzira’s presence during Ndayamabaje’s speech (which instigated the killing of Tutsis) offered tacit approval and substantially contributed to subsequent killings (¶ 75), amounting to the aiding and abetting of genocide. The Appeals Chamber reversed the conviction for based on this event because it was “impossible to determine with any reasonable certainty whether any killings in fact occurred following the meeting and, if so, the degree to which they were related to the ceremony” (¶ 77).

Elements: 

1. Acts “specifically aimed at assisting, encouraging, or lending moral support for the perpetration of a specific crime” with “a substantial effect on the perpetration of the crime” (¶ 86)

2. Knowledge that the acts performed assist the commission of the specific crime of the principal perpetrator. (¶ 86)

Key Passages : 

ACTUS REUS: Tacit approval and encouragement is a form of aiding and abetting. “[I]t has been the authority of the accused combined with his presence on (or very near to) the crime scene, especially if considered together with his prior conduct, which all together allow the conclusion that the accused’s conduct amounts to official sanction of the crime and thus substantially contributes to it” (¶ 74).

Tribunal: 
ICTR
Chamber: 
Appeals Chamber