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François Twahirwa was a government official in Rukumberi. During the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, Twahirwa had engaged in organising, inciting and supervising the genocide. He had led meetings where the murder of Tutsi was the objective, he had given instructions to others to kill Tutsi and supervised the operations. Twahirwa was an advisor to the Minister of Public Service and member of the MRND political party and as such, was aware of the fact that Tutsi were being pursued and exterminated throughout the country.

He was charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, being a member, organiser and leader of a criminal organisation, premeditated murder, damage to property, committing an attack with the objective of devastation, pillage or slaughter and non-assistance to persons in danger.

The Court concluded that Twahirwa was “an organizer, inciter, supervisor and one who enlisted others”, and found evidence that he directed others to commit genocide and that he possessed the specific intent necessary for the crime of genocide. The Court convicted Twahirwa of genocide, criminal association and attacks with the objective of devastation, pillage or slaughter. He was acquitted from the other charges due to lack of evidence, but this did not help him: he was sentenced to death.

Zlatko Aleksovski was brought before the ICTY for his role in the commission of crimes against the detainees of the Kaonik prison in the Lašva Valley area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the hostilities between the Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim forces, the facility was used as a detention place for Bosnian Muslims. The detainees were subjected to physical and mental mistreatments. Furthermore, they were used as human shields and for trench digging. Aleksovski was the commander of the Kaonik prison from January 1993 till May 1993.

Trial Chamber I found that the Prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to support that Aleksovski was responsible for the conditions at the Kaonik prison in the Lašva Valley area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accordingly, Aleksovski was found not guilty of the grave breaches of inhuman treatment and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health. 

However, Trial Chamber I found Aleksovski guilty of outrages upon personal dignity (as a violation of the laws or customs of war) for his role in the infliction of violence on the Muslim detainees and for using them as human shields and for trench digging. Aleksovski was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment. 

Dinko Ljubomir Šakić was born on 8 September 1921 in the village of Studenci in Perušić, Croatia. Šakić was the commander of the Jasenovac concentration camp from April until November 1944. During that time, more than 2,000 Serbs, Jews and Gypsies were killed under his command. Moreover, detainees were hanged, starved, brutally tortured and murdered. Šakić personally killed at least four detainees, two of them just for smiling.On 4 October 1999, he was found guilty for the crimes and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In July 2008, Šakić died at the age of 86 in a hospital in Zagreb.

After the takeover of Prijedor (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the attack launched against the town of Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1992, the non-Serb civilians were detained in several prison facilities, where they were beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured, killed and otherwise mistreated. Duško Tadić was the President of the Local Board of the Serb Democratic Party in Kozarac (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Trial Chamber II found Duško Tadić guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and, in a separate sentencing judgment, sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment.

The Appeals Chamber denied Duško Tadić’s appeal on all grounds. It did allow, however, the Prosecution’s appeal, reversing the judgment of Trial Chamber II and entering convictions for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Appeals Chamber also held that an act carried out for the purely personal motives of the perpetrator can constitute a crime against humanity. Furthermore, Trial Chamber II erred in finding that all crimes against humanity require discriminatory intent. 

The issue of sentencing was referred to a Trial Chamber.

The appellant, Michel Gatera, was convicted by the Court of First Instance of Kibuye of genocide for his role in leading three sisters to a location where he knew they would subsequently be executed by a group of assailants. Two of the sisters died, the third survived as a result of circumstances outside the control of the perpetrators and testified against the appellant at trial. The Court of Appeal of Kigali, however, overturned the conviction and acquitted Gatera on the ground that there was no proof that established that Gatera had indeed led the three victims to their place of execution. The testimonial evidence relied upon by the Court of First Instance was found to be not reliable and contradictory.