Accused Belgian priest's case moved to Rwandan criminal court

Published: 2005-09-12

KIGALI, Rwanda (CNS) -- The case of a Belgian priest arrested on charges of helping incite genocide has been transferred to a criminal court, where he could face the death penalty. The Gacaca tribunal -- one of the traditional courts set up to prosecute the majority of genocide suspects -- determined that Father Guy Theunis, a member of the Missionaries of Africa, was a category-one defendant and must face a full criminal trial. Category one is reserved for defendants who were in positions of power, "especially those who planned the genocide and were responsible," said Innocent Musafiri, a spokesman for the Gacaca authority. He said Father Theunis' position within the Missionaries of Africa and the Catholic Church put him into the class of higher-level defendants. Sentences are far stiffer for category-one defendants than for people convicted in Gacaca courts. Category-one defendants can face penalties ranging from jail time -- up to life in prison -- to the death penalty. It was not clear Sept. 12 whether Father Theunis would face the death penalty; that will be up to the prosecutors, Musafiri said.

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