APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Rwanda is currently developing a dedicated curriculum to guide the rehabilitation and reintegration of more than 22,000 convicts of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi into society after completing their sentences, an official source revealed Wednesday.
The Minister of National Unity and Civic Engagement, Jean Damascene Bizimana was quoted by the local media as confirming that a group genocide convicts who were sentenced to between 20 and 30 years in jail are being released
Speaking before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Unity, Human Rights, and Fight against Genocide regarding efforts in place to combat genocide ideology and related crimes, Bizimana revealed that between 1,000 and 2,500 genocide convicts are released every year in a category of those who had been sentenced to between 15 and 25 years.
Most of those sentenced to 30 years in jail, he noted, will also be released soon.
“The release of genocide convicts should be prepared and rehabilitated before reintegration into society because the country has faced rapid transformation over the past 30 years and we are putting in effort in fostering unity and reconciliation as we fight against genocide ideology and denial,” he said.
Some convicts remain stubborn with the genocide ideology, he said.
Most of the genocide convicts were sentenced by Gacaca courts.
CU/as/APA