Lt Gen Nyamwasa used to be a close ally of President Paul Kagame Rwanda exiles get long jail terms
Lt Gen Nyamwasa used to be a close ally of President Paul Kagame A military court in Rwanda has sentenced four former top officials who have fallen out with the government to long prison terms.
The men, all in exile, were found guilty of threatening state security and propagating ethnic divisions.
Lt Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who survived an assassination attempt in June, and Maj Theogene Rudasingwa got 24 years and will lose their army rank.
Patrick Karegeya and Gerald Gahima received a sentence of 20 years each.
The guilty verdict means Rwanda’s government could seek the extradition of the men who are currently in exile in either the US or South Africa.
However correspondents say it is unlikely that either country would readily agree to such a request.
Rwanda denies any links to the June 2010 shooting of Lt Gen Nyamwasa in Johannesburg.
The Rwandan government believes Lt Gen Nyamwasa was linked to grenade attacks in Kigali earlier last year and has previously tried to secure his extradition.
Like the other men Lt Gen Nyamwasa was once a close ally of Rwandan President Paul Kagame – and has denied the allegations.
FAUSTIN KAYUMBA NYAMWASA1994: Helped bring Paul Kagame to power and end genocide1998: Appointed army chief of staff2006: French judge accuses him of shooting down plane of Rwanda’s ex-President Habyarimana in 19942008: Spain accuses him of links to death of Spanish nunsFeb 2010: Leaves post as ambassador to India, flees to South AfricaAccused of links to grenade attacks in KigaliJune 2010: Shot in JohannesburgJanuary 2011: Sentenced to 24 years by a military court
Mr Gahima was Rwanda’s prosecutor general, Mr Karegeya was director of external intelligence in Rwanda’s military, while Maj Rudasingwa was the top official in the president’s office.
The BBC’s Geoffrey Mutagoma in the capital, Kigali, says the men were also found guilty of creating a group of criminals; defaming a head of state and disrupting the freedom of the government.
Mr Kagame led the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel movement which put a stop to the 1994 genocide – and has been president since 2000.
The president, who was overwhelmingly re-elected for a second term with 93% of the vote last August, is viewed by many in the West as one of Africa’s more dynamic leaders.
However, critics have raised concerns about his more authoritarian tendencies and the government was accused of harassing the opposition ahead of the elections.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.