Georges Ruggiu

Infobox Person
name = Georges Ruggiu


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1957|10|12
birth_place = Verviers, Belgium
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Journalist, broadcaster
spouse =
parents =
children =

Georges Henri Yvon Joseph Ruggiu (born 12 October, 1957 in Verviers, Belgium) is a journalist and broadcaster, who worked in Rwanda for Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, a radio station that played a significant role in promoting the Rwandan Genocide.cite web
title = Trial Watch: Georges Ruggiu
publisher = TRIAL
author =
date = 25 April, 2006
url = http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/georges_ruggiu_195.html
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ]

Though born in Belgium, Ruggiu has Italian nationality. cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7268739.stm
title = Italian Rwanda convict flown home
publisher = BBC News
date = 28 February 2008
accessdate = 2008-03-01] From January to July 1994, prior to and during the genocide, Ruggiu worked in Kigali, Rwanda as a journalist and producer for Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM). RTLM was one of the chief sources of extremist Hutu propaganda, broadcasting twenty-four hours a day and openly exhorting its audience to kill Tutsis and "disloyal" Hutus. Ruggiu personally wrote and broadcast much of the content of this nature. Ruggiu personally broadcast programs inciting Hutus to commit murder or serious attacks against Tutsi rebels, whom he called "cockroaches".cite web
title = Rwanda 2000: Country report
publisher = Committee to Protect Journalists
author =
date =
url = http://www.cpj.org/attacks00/africa00/Rwanda.html
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ] He also encouraged persecution of these Tutsis, and moderate Hutus and Belgian citizens in the area.

On 23 July, 1997, Ruggiu was arrested in Mombasa, Kenya at the request of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and moved to the site of the tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania. Ruggiu was charged with "direct and public incitement to commit genocide" and "crimes against humanity (persecution)". [cite web
title = Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: Summary of judgments against the accused
publisher = Human Rights Watch
author =
month = February | year = 2004
url = http://hrw.org/reports/2004/ij/ictr/1.htm
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ] During his three-year long trial, Ruggiu expressed regret for his part in events, saying, "I admit that it was indeed a genocide and that unfortunately I took part in it."cite web
title = Rwanda protests at 'lenient' sentence
publisher = BBC News
author =
date = 1 June, 2000
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/772607.stm
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ] Ruggiu acknowledged his role in the genocide, admitting that he:cquote|...incited murders and caused serious attacks on the physical and/or mental well-being of members of the Tutsi population with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, an ethnic or racial group.cite web
title = 'Hate radio' journalist confesses
publisher = BBC News
author =
date = 15 May, 2000
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/749079.stm
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ] He accepted responsibility for his actions, stating "certain people were killed in Rwanda in 1994 and that I was responsible and culpable." Ruggiu detailed the inner workings of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, stating the radio station was used to convey "the ideology and plans of Hutu extremists in Rwanda."

On 15 May, 2000, Ruggiu pleaded guilty to both charges of indictment, and was sentenced to twelve years in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for incitement to commit genocide. [cite web
title = ICTR - Georges Ruggiu, journalist
publisher = Fondation Hirondelle
author =
date = 17 June, 2000
url = http://www.hirondelle.org/hirondelle.nsf/0/c319ac23033fce1ac1256721007ae237?OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ] He received a relatively short sentence, after agreeing to testify against three suspects who allegedly used the media, most notably RTLM, to fuel the genocide in Rwanda. [cite web
title = Convicted ex-radio presenter has mental problems, defence suggests
publisher = Fondation Hirondelle
author =
date = 5 March, 2002
url = http://www.hirondelle.org/hirondelle.nsf/0/c319ac23033fce1ac1256721007ae237?OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-03-07 ]

In February 2008, Ruggiu was flown to Italy to serve out the rest of his 12-year sentence in his country of citizenship.

References

External links

* [http://www.trial-ch.org/trialwatch/profiles/en/facts/p195.html Trial Watch: Georges Ruggiu]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/749079.stm BBC article - Ruggiu genocide trial]
* [http://www.hirondellenews.com Hirondelle News Agency website]