The Trial Chamber convicted Nzuwonemeye and Sagahutu of ordering and aiding and abetting the killing of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and Belgian peacekeepers, thus perpetrating murder as a crime against humanity and violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II. Among the numerous convictions, the Trial Chamber found that Nzuwonemeye aided and abetted the killing of the Prime Minister by ordering the deployment of soldiers, remaining in contact with soldiers, sending supplies, and issuing operational instructions to them. However, the Indictment did not mention these material facts and was thus too vague as to give proper notice (¶¶ 185-90). The Appeals Chamber reversed that specific conviction as a result, but affirmed the other aiding and abetting conviction.
1. “[A]cts 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”
2. “[K]nowledge that the acts performed assist in the commission of the specific crime of the principal perpetrator” (Trial Judgment, ¶ 1914)
Proper Notice: “Appeals Chamber considers that the Indictment does not clearly indicate the conduct upon which the Trial Chamber held Nzuwonemeye responsible for having ordered and aided and abetted the killing of the Prime Minister. The Indictment is therefore vague and defective” (¶ 175).